Rep. Brad Tabke, ACLU of Minnesota, Impacted Minnesotans, Discuss Need to Limit Use of Data from Automatic Driver License Plate Readers

SAINT PAUL – Rep. Brad Tabke (DFL-Shakopee) authored a bill that would protect Minnesotans’ safety and privacy by placing clear restrictions on the use of license plate data by private entities. The bill will be heard by the House Judiciary Finance and Policy Committee at 10:15 a.m.

Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are small, high-speed cameras that scan and record thousands of license plates a minute. While ALPRs have some legitimate uses, they are capable of recording every location a car has traveled to in a town, city or state for months.

Creating a record of where people travel can reveal highly personal information. That’s why Minnesota law currently places restrictions on how private data can be used. But, as the ACLU of Minnesota discovered, some local law enforcement agencies are providing federal enforcement agencies with warrantless access to individuals’ private information.

“In a recent data request, the ACLU of Minnesota found that some Minnesota law enforcement agencies have allowed such broad access to their ALPR databases that they are seeing nearly 300,000 searches run against their cameras per month.” said John Boehler, ACLU-MN Policy Counsel. “Organizations outside of Minnesota have, in some cases, run thousands of searches per day on Minnesota communities including for prohibited uses like civil immigration enforcement. There is absolutely no reason for the privacy of Minnesotans to be consistently violated by out-of-state police and sheriff departments.”

Testimony from dozens of Minnesotans suggests that ICE and other federal agencies used ALPRs during Operation Metro Surge to identify peaceful protesters and observers. One observer, Katie Henly, is a declarant in the ACLU-MN's lawsuit, Tincher v. Noem.

“In January, a neighbor and I were following two ICE vehicles that were driving through our community,” said Henly. “We followed the trucks for a few minutes to see if they were conducting any targeted immigration actions but instead found that they were just driving around aimlessly. As we continued following the vehicles, I suddenly recognized the street we turned onto and was horrified when the two trucks slowed directly in front of my house and began taking multiple photos of it. I had not spoken to any of the agents, and there was no reason why they should know where I and my family live.”

“When someone can take your license plate during a confrontation and hours later your home address is tied to a false report, it shows how easily this kind of data can be misused,” said Kelsey McFarlane, a resident of Afton. “Minnesotans deserve basic guardrails to prevent surveillance tools from being used to intimidate people in their own communities.”

These abuses of local ALPR databases make clear the need to more tightly regulate and control the use of Minnesotans’ personal data. That is exactly what Rep. Tabke’s bill would do. HF 4205 legislation will:

· Ensure that ALPR data is not accessed, disseminated, or shared outside the state unless required by a court order or judicial warrant.

· Require every local law enforcement agency to maintain data sharing agreements with other law enforcement agencies that have access to their cameras.

· Require any entity operating an ALPR system to post signage informing drivers that an ALPR system is in use and their data is being captured.

· Prevent any person or entity from selling, transferring, or sharing personal data collected by an ALPR system without affirmative consent or a judicial warrant.

“The number of times that Minnesotans’ personal driver’s license plate data have been pulled without their knowledge is unconscionable and Minnesotans deserve better,” said Rep. Tabke. “I've heard these stories firsthand from Shakopee residents, as their data is used to intimidate them, even tracking them to their own homes. Any legislator who claims to care about data privacy should join me in supporting this bill and protecting Minnesotans’ personal data.”