San Jose is trying to build trust with its residents by limitingwhat the police can do withlicense plate information. The ban includes selling data, using license plates to investigate immigration status, and monitoring protests or rallies.
But Privacy advocates are not convinced that the new measures truly protect residents’ privacy.
KALW spoke with Bob Nunez, the president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, who is concerned that the City Council hasn’t spent enough time researching where the data actually goes.
He says that if license plate reader companies own the data instead of police, residents are still at risk. Nunez, along with other privacy rights advocates, are asking the City Council for more transparency.
San Jose plans to install an additional 150 readers across the city, but officials haven’t said when they will install those cameras.
