EPIC Testifies in New York State and the City of Boston Urging for ALPR Guardrails and Greater Transparency

This week, EPIC Counsel Maria Villegas Bravo testified in support of a New York Assembly bill and a City of Boston ordinance that would enact guardrails on automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and increase the transparency of ALPR systems, respectively.  

New York’s proposed AB10808 and its companion, Senate Bill S.9890, would create effective safeguards for ALPRs through data minimization, purpose limitations, robust auditing, public reporting, and a private right of action for New Yorkers to enforce their constitutional rights. The bill addresses the often-rampant misuse and abuse of ALPRs by law enforcement, limits the out-of-state sharing of data, and strengthens auditing procedures and data deletion requirements. EPIC urges the Assembly to advance these commonsense privacy protections that keep the daily lives of New Yorkers out of the hands of law enforcement. 

The Boston City Council’s proposed ordinance amending the city of Boston Code, Ordinances, Chapter XVI, Section 63, Ordinance on Surveillance Oversight and Information Sharing is a great first step to increase transparency and ensure that the audit logs of ALPRs are meaningful tools for oversight bodies. EPIC enumerated various additions to the reporting, such as rigorous accounting of all entities that query an ALPR system as well as number of scans that would allow Boston’s oversight bodies to have an accurate picture of how this dangerous surveillance technology is actually being used. These amendments not only protect the privacy of Bostonians, but ensure that law enforcement can effectively assess the compliance and utility of ALPRs.  

EPIC has long advocated for sensible limits on potentially dangerous surveillance technologies and frequently examines traffic enforcement systems and ALPRs, the flaws and dangers of these systems, and their impacts on society. More surveillance is not the answer, and EPIC applauds the New York Assembly and the Boston City Council for taking steps to address residents’ privacy as this technology becomes more widespread.