How License Plate Readers Are Normalizing Mass Surveillance
All across the country, police have convinced communities to pay for mass surveillance systems like license plate readers, claiming they will help stop the most serious crimes. But once these ever-watchful electronic eyes are installed in your city, it's not just violent criminals they're recording—it's everyone.
EFFector · Hudson Hongo, Christian Romero, Adam Schwartz
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Show Notes
All across the country, police have convinced communities to pay for mass surveillance systems like license plate readers, claiming they will help stop the most serious crimes. But once these ever-watchful electronic eyes are installed in your city, it's not just violent criminals they're recording—it's everyone.
Time and time again, we've seen police surveillance suffer from "mission creep." Technology that was sold as a way to catch killers ends up being used to enforce traffic violations, track protesters, and more. In this episode, we explain what mission creep is—and how it explains the disturbing normalization of mass surveillance technology.
EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan.
00:00 Intro
03:17 Interview with Adam Schwartz
26:57 Discussion
33:07 News Quiz
37:20 EFF Events and Opportunities