Police being used as data miners and debt collectors

[USN_Hokie]

This is some scary stuff...definitely worth the read. It's in Texas now but will be everywhere soon enough.

"No Cost" License Plate Readers Are Turning Texas Police into Mobile Debt Collectors and Data Miners

Vigilant Solutions, one of the country’s largest brokers of vehicle surveillance technology, is offering a hell of a deal to law enforcement agencies in Texas: a whole suite of automated license plate reader (ALPR) equipment and access to the company’s massive databases and analytical tools—and it won’t cost the agency a dime.

Even though the technology is marketed as budget neutral, that doesn’t mean no one has to pay. Instead, Texas police fund it by gouging people who have outstanding court fines and handing Vigilant all of the data they gather on drivers for nearly unlimited commercial use.

Keep reading...

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/01/n ... ectors-and

[awesome guy]

This is some scary stuff...definitely worth the read. It's in Texas now but will be everywhere soon enough.

"No Cost" License Plate Readers Are Turning Texas Police into Mobile Debt Collectors and Data Miners

Vigilant Solutions, one of the country’s largest brokers of vehicle surveillance technology, is offering a hell of a deal to law enforcement agencies in Texas: a whole suite of automated license plate reader (ALPR) equipment and access to the company’s massive databases and analytical tools—and it won’t cost the agency a dime.

Even though the technology is marketed as budget neutral, that doesn’t mean no one has to pay. Instead, Texas police fund it by gouging people who have outstanding court fines and handing Vigilant all of the data they gather on drivers for nearly unlimited commercial use.

Keep reading...

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/01/n ... ectors-and

I don't think the surveillance society is avoidable. Google could and likely does attach the same technology on their vehicles. Yep, extra creepy with a police force attached to it. But it's happening as long as the courts don't view us as the owners of our personal information. Our location on public property or view unfortunately is considered part of the public domain. I wonder if we could sue for as being unpaid actors in their media collection and use that as a backdoor to shutting it down?