EPIC’s Jake Wiener to Testify on Privacy Protections for Traffic Camera Systems in Maryland 

Jake Wiener, Counsel in EPIC’s Project on Surveillance Oversight, will testify this afternoon at a Maryland House Environment and Transportation Committee hearing on MD H.B. 1001.  

The bill would require municipalities installing automated traffic cameras including speeding cameras, red light cameras, and school-bus cameras to establish strong protections. Under H.B. 1001, agencies could only use the images and data from traffic cameras for ticketing. Police could not obtain or use the images for general criminal investigations, transfer them to other agencies, or sell the images to data brokers. The purpose limitation is supported by strong data minimization requirements, data deletion, a ban on data transfer, and auditing requirements. 

In his written testimony, Mr. Wiener noted that the bill improves on automated traffic enforcement legislation in other states, “This bill won’t be the first in the country, but it will be the most comprehensive.”  

Watch the hearing at 1pm HERE.