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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Your computerized license plate is spying on you



 Everyone driving in California will have their location accessible to the government at any time.
The Constitution and Bill of Rights have no meaning to
the liar political hacks in either party.


Police State  -  Inch by inch the Police Surveillance State tightens its grip on your throat until that day comes when Big Brother reveals himself and all are required to worship the State.

California license plates could get a high-tech makeover with a digital screen and wireless capabilities as part of a Senate bill making its way through the Legislature.

Senate Bill 806 authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to create a pilot program at no cost to the state with as many as 160,000 cars testing the digital plates patented by San Francisco-based Smart Plate Mobile. The state hopes the technology will improve "efficiencies" in vehicle registrations. 

Naturally the cover story is saving money.  I am sure having police track Americans without a warrant never entered their minds.

Privacy advocates say the approach could leave motorists vulnerable to government surveillance by undoing a Supreme Court ruling that required authorities to obtain search warrants before using vehicle tracking devices reports The Kansas City Star.

"It means everyone driving in California will have their location accessible to the government at any time," said Nate Cardozo, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

In 2010, the Legislature considered a similar bill supported by Smart Plate Mobile, with the noted addition of allowing for scrolling advertisements when a vehicle comes to a stop for four seconds or longer.

Sen. Curren Price, D-Los Angeles, carried both bills, although Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, took over this year's version after Price moved to the Los Angeles City Council. Price billed the 2010 legislation, which died in committee, as a potential revenue generator for the cash-starved state because the DMV would have been able to sell ad space on the plates.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation said it is paying attention after learning about the bill.

"We're surprised and disappointed that this bill seems to be proceeding without any serious exploration of the privacy risks," said Lee Tien, senior staff attorney at the nonprofit group. "Just because it's a pilot doesn't excuse the Legislature of responsibility."

The digital plate is essentially a 12-inch-by-6-inch computer screen with "California" in red across the top and license numbers in blue.

The law would create a three-year program run by the DMV to test the digital plates on California roadways.

"When you have 400 to 500 vehicles, you can imagine having one person parked at a DMV office every day processing registrations," Hueso said. "The DMV would prefer not having that person in their office every day and just send the registration electronically."

Cardozo of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said the technology could lead to police monitoring, particularly in light of a Supreme Court ruling last year that said law enforcement needed a search warrant to place a tracking device on a vehicle.

"If the technology is already on the car, then the government wouldn't need a warrant to place the device because it's already there," Cardozo said.


Wi-Fi Gives Away Your Every Move
 



“But it was alright, everything was alright, the
struggle was finished. He had won the victory
over himself. He loved Big Brother.”
George Orwell, 1984

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