PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — With the rise of electronic data collection, a representative wants to establish safeguards for automated surveillance technologies to protect citizen’s Fourth Amendment rights.
In a memo circulated by Rep. David Rowe (R- Juniata/Mifflin/Snyder/Union), the two-bill package would require a government agency to obtain a warrant before using information from automated license plate readers (ALPRs), and require ALPRs to be identified by signage.
“When combined across multiple systems,” said Rowe, “facial-recognition records and other personally identifiable information can provide the government with a detailed picture of an individual’s life – including where a person lives and works, whom the person associates with, the places of worship or political events the person attends, and even when the person seeks medical care or legal advice.”
The bill would also allow local governments to pass an ordinance placing a temporary ban on ALPRs within its boundaries.
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“Without clear guardrails,” said Rowe, “these emerging technologies could transform limited investigative tools into an Orwellian system of mass surveillance.”
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