Violation of Privacy - Yes or No?

[dvarapala]

Automatic License Plate Readers have become cheap enough that every neighborhood Karen can now afford to deploy one. Is this a violation of privacy? Or is there no expectation of privacy in a public space, so you should not do anything in publicx that you wouldn't want to see on YouTube?

[Rob]

No, because we have looked at purchasing them for our neighborhood but after speaking with the local police dept they informed us that they were about to start installing them at each entrance of not only our subdivision but in front of all subdivisions in the city.

[Steve_R]

No more a violation of privacy than driving around with lots of cars having cameras in them.

[DJ_Critterus]

It would only be an issue if said Karens or government officials started using these to harass people. Hell, I don't even like letting government have these except in limited situations like going onto federal property such as military bases.

[Mike Mercury]

It would only be an issue if the cameras were pointed at private property that the camera owner does not own.

Even then its borderline...

[Louie Detroit]

I’ve always thought it would be a shame if somehow a baseball bat or pellet gun had an intimate encounter with one of those things.

[PLRX]

Those things connect to miners and that info end up in China.

[LATB]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

It would only be an issue if the cameras were pointed at private property that the camera owner does not own.

Even then its borderline...

Sadly, this too is allowed by law. The only caveat is..the camera can not be pointed directly at a bedroom or bathroom window.

[VITE1]

The root cause reason people and organizations want these things is because we keep producing feral citizens.

Maybe we should be looking at reducing the breeding of ferals and stop photographing everyone and anyone simply so we can find the details after they commit a crime.

Because all information in the hands of government will be used to make the government stronger.

[Bill]

You have zero expectation of privacy in public. If you don't want your tag read, time and date documented, with your picture, do what everyone else does and stick a fake paper plate on. If you're in a pickup, maybe try driving around with the tailgate down? Depending on the angle of the camera, that might afford some protection.

Some of the smaller burgs around Houston have installed them on roads leading in and out of their communities. Frankly, I think it's a waste of time unless they're looking for cheating spouses, that kind of thing. Any decent criminal has a fake paper tag on their ride when they're going to rob a house, knock over a liquor store, or do a drive by shooting.

[jw38]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

It would only be an issue if the cameras were pointed at private property that the camera owner does not own.

Even then its borderline...

Not true. A camera in a public space can record anything it can see. Even private property.

[MadInNc]

Duhhh.. go take on red light cameras under you thoughts.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by MadInNc

Duhhh.. go take on red light cameras under you thoughts.

Texas banned them; they were really victims of their own success. People in cities thought, "they won't catch me, only other people, so why not? Turns out, those cameras catch everybody, and shortening the yellow on those lights involved was, I'm sure, totally coincidental.

At some point, enough people had been ticketed and were pissed, that cities started voting to get rid of them, and the outrage finally got the Texas lege to act and ban them state wide.

Never got one myself, but vowed never to pay if I did get one. I DID have to lock up the brakes on a 16,000 pound trailer in Lufkin once, though. You could feel the flat spots on those tires for quite a while after that. **** you, city of Lufkin.

[DAB]

sneak up behind, psst some spray paint, carry on.

[ZipZap]

Privacy? No. There's no such right in public.

4th Amendment? Maybe. Ask your attorney.