One line tucked into a federal highway bill would strip funds from cities and states unless they kill their automated plate tracking programs—effectively banning the tech for all but toll collection.
  • Kynsey@lemmy.ml
    9·
    5 hours ago

    Sadly this headline is not entirely accurate. What the amendment does is it bans recipients of federal highway funds from using the readers for anything other than toll collection. I think anyone who keeps up with how surveillance works these day’s can guess what the result will be.

    Private companies will operate the cameras and sell the surveillance data back to the police. Since private companies do not need federal highway funds it won’t effect them. Massive loophole.

    It is already common for Flock Cameras for example to be private. Stores will buy them and install them. It’s just more privitization of surveillance. There will still be license plate readers everywhere.

      • Jul (they/she)@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        6·
        8 hours ago

        The cops maybe, but the agencies are in the pockets of the companies that sell it. And they control the message given to politicians who are also on the pockets of these companies. The companies have no qualms bribing all over the spectrum of politics and haven’t been stopped from doing it up to now. The systems are crap but super expensive for this very reason. The primary cost of the product is the bribes, not the technology. It’s how the industry of road cameras (plate tracking, red light, speed, etc.) has always been.