Abortion may be legal in California, but it’s often illegal in Texas. The Lone Star State has strict laws that penalize anyone involved in the procedure. This includes anyone who aids a woman in getting one. So, what happens when Californian police departments, such as the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), share data they collect through automated license plate readers (ALPR) with Texas police agencies? There’s a risk that the data could be used to track down and criminally prosecute people who help women legally obtain medical care in California, but are outlawed in Texas.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union issued demand letters to 70 California police agencies across 22 counties, including the OCSD, asking them to stop sharing ALPR data with states that outlaw abortion or limit reproductive freedom. Sharing this information is illegal, and the civil liberties organizations gave California cities and counties until June 15 to respond. Failure to comply could result in lawsuits.
ALPR technology is a powerful surveillance system that collects and stores location information about drivers whose cars pass through ALPR cameras’ fields of view. This sensitive data can reveal where individuals work, live, associate, worship, seek medical care, and travel. The ALPR system can also filter license plate information through law enforcement data sources to identify stolen or wanted vehicles. In some cases, law enforcement agencies may not need a search warrant to obtain this information.
The affect of this technology is a violation of privacy and the civil rights of individuals and communities. The California State Auditor’s office concluded in 2020 that law enforcement agencies need to better protect individuals’ privacy by updating policies to reflect state law. They also need to improve their ALPR data security and make more informed decisions about sharing their ALPR data while expanding their oversight of ALPR users.
There are over a dozen cities in Orange County alone that contract with OCSD for police services that hold contracts with ALPR service providers, not with the department itself. Still, the OCSD contends that it follows the law and is committed to transparency. While reciprocal data-sharing relationships between police agencies in different states are nothing new, there’s growing concern that the elimination of Roe v. Wade has changed the surveillance landscape dramatically. California has passed more than a dozen laws to protect reproductive freedom, enshrining the right to choose in the Golden State. Sharing information with law enforcement in states that criminalize abortion undermines these efforts.
Civil liberties organizations and cautious government officials must strive to find a middle ground between privacy and effective law enforcement. As a society, we must strike a delicate balance to balance freedom and security in a way that protects individual and communal rights without compromising them.
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