San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said online retailers will stop or restrict the sale of illegal license plate covers after he sent a cease-and-desist letter to four major companies last year.
Chiu announced Monday that Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Walmart all worked with his office to remove the covers from their platforms or added geographic filters to their sites to prevent them from being sold in California.
“The only reason someone would put a cover like this on their license plate is to get away with a crime,” Chiu said in a news release. “We appreciate that these online retailers recognized the seriousness of this issue and worked with us to promote public safety. We will continue to monitor any illegal listings that may pop up in the future.”
According to Chiu’s office, the California Vehicle Code makes it illegal to “sell a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate by visual means, or by an electronic device.” Additionally, a license plate cover may not “obstruct or impair the recognition of the license plate information.”
Chiu said that the retailers have made the following changes:
- Amazon has banned listings for electronic license plate and vinyl wrap license plate covers from its North America platform entirely. Amazon has prohibited the sale and shipment of smoked and tinted license plate covers to California mailing addresses.
- Walmart has banned electronic license plate covers from its platform entirely and has prohibited the sale and shipment of smoked and tinted license plate covers to California mailing addresses.
- Etsy has banned listings for electronic, vinyl wrap, and smoked license plate covers from its website, effectively prohibiting sales of these products nationwide.
- eBay has banned listings for electronic, vinyl wrap, and smoked license plate covers from its website, effectively prohibiting sales of these products nationwide.
