Katie Bies writes:
The Virginia Supreme Court held that license plate images taken by law enforcement agencies constitute “personal information,” reviving a challenge to the police storage of license plate data.
Automatic license plate readers (“ALPRs”) are used by police departments across the country to take thousands of photos of license plates per hour. Officers check these numbers against lists of stolen or wanted vehicles. Because ALPRs also record the date, time and location of the license plate image, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have argued that this collection is an invasion of privacy that allows police to track a person’s movements.
Read more on Covington & Burling Inside Privacy.
It would be highly intersting to observe if the “the Police Department’s retention and “passive use” of information generated by ALPRs may be classified as an “information system” governed by the Data Act. .”
If there is made a link between the vehicle and the plate in their DB – it is personal information