A state legislator from San Francisco and the city’s district attorney have announced new legislation to hold individuals accountable for misusing their access to data collected by automated license plate reader, or ALPR cameras.
The bill, authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, will create criminal penalties for law enforcement officers and government employees who share or misuse their access to ALPR data, a news release from Haney’s office said.
Police departments use ALPR cameras to investigate crimes like stolen vehicles. But privacy watchdogs have raised concerns about federal agencies being able to access the camera data — a potential violation of state law — and using it for targeted surveillance of immigrants and other vulnerable groups.
“If you’re a public safety officer with access to sensitive information about where people go and when they go there, that access comes with an enormous responsibility and a very limited purpose.”
Assemblymember Matt Haney
Over the last year, many Bay Area cities and counties have been reexamining their contracts with Flock Safety, the manufacturer of these cameras, considering the federal administration’s crackdown on immigrants and the company’s checkered record of sharing ALPR data with federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“If you’re a public safety officer with access to sensitive information about where people go and when they go there, that access comes with an enormous responsibility and a very limited purpose,” said Haney in the news release. “If you abuse that access, there should be criminal consequences, and you should be prosecuted.”
California law already prescribes criminal penalties for misuse of other law enforcement databases like criminal history information, and Haney and Jenkins’ bill will extend the same criminal penalties to the misuse of ALPR data, the news release said.
“We want strong safeguards, and we want safety,” said Jenkins in the news release. “Anyone who abuses this technology will face consequences, and these new policies will serve as a deterrent while allowing us to continue using this important tool to advance public safety.”
The bill will be introduced in the 2027-28 legislative session.