We Demand More Information on How Marin Cops Illegally Shared Flock ALPR Data

The Marin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has been accused of illegally sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state and federal agencies, a violation of California laws and terms of a 2022 settlement agreement. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU of Northern California have taken action against the MCSO, demanding more information about the breach and requesting records under the California Public Records Act.

ALPRs are surveillance cameras that capture images of vehicles and upload their location to a database, posing a significant risk to privacy, particularly for marginalized groups. Sharing this data with agencies outside of California, including Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, and Texas, has exposed sensitive driver location information to potential misuse by the federal government and states with weaker privacy protections.

This is not the first instance of MCSO violating California law, as the EFF and ACLU previously sued the Sheriff's office in 2021 for similar actions. The organization is calling for a thorough audit of the MCSO's ALPR database, new compliance protocols, and penalties for any employee found to be sharing ALPR information outside of the state.

The letter emphasizes that many California agencies disregard these laws, putting residents' rights and safety at risk in the face of ICE raids and restrictive abortion laws.