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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Some California police departments are continuing to share automated license plate reader data with other states which could use the information to track people seeking or providing abortions, according to civil liberties groups.
Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems capture images of license plates and store information about drivers. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, concerns have risen that the systems could be weaponized by states seeking to block pregnant women and girls from crossing state lines to obtain abortions, and criminalize those seeking the procedure or helping someone else get one.
Sharing such data appears to go against guidance issued by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
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In October, Bonta said a 2016 California law, SB 34, prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from sharing information collected from ALPR systems with out-of-state or federal agencies.
He met with the leaders of several police departments that questioned his conclusion in December.
Bonta later wrote that he agrees that "information-sharing among law enforcement agencies, where appropriate and within the confines of the law, can help identify bad actors and ensure safer communities. Nevertheless, the (State Justice) Department's obligation is to defend the law as written."
SB 34 allowed police to share automated license data only with another "public agency," defined as "the state" or one of its local governments.
Newsweek has contacted several law enforcement agencies, as well as Bonta's office, via email for comment.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union reported in a letter to Bonta in January that they had contacted 73 police agencies in California that were sharing such data out of state.
The letter said that many agencies responded that they would end the practice, but other agencies "either refused to do so or failed to respond altogether."
"In anti-abortion jurisdictions, driver location information collected by California-based ALPRs can be used by law enforcement agencies to closely monitor abortion clinics, the vehicles seen around them, and the movements of abortion seekers and providers," the letter said.
"Sharing ALPR information also threatens those obtaining or providing abortions in California, given anti-abortion states' plans to criminalize and prosecute those who seek or assist in out-of-state abortions."
Police departments in the Bay Area communities of Pittsburg and Hercules said they have limited data sharing to other California agencies after hearing from Bonta.
Brian Addington, who was recently named Antioch's interim police chief, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he will follow Bonta's advice and change the department's practices.
But other departments, including the Sacramento Police Department, are continuing to share data out of state.
The Sacramento Police Department "shares information with departments within the western states... on a need-to-know, right-to-know basis," a department spokesperson told Newsweek.
The spokesperson said agencies requesting to access to data are required to provide a case or report number as well as a justification for their search. "We do not allow entities outside of our agency unrestricted access to our data," the spokesperson added.
Robert Roberts, a police lieutenant in Oakley, said that his department is also still sharing data with agencies outside California. Roberts said his department told Bonta's office that it disagreed with the attorney general's interpretation of the law and did not receive a response.
Jennifer Pinsof, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Newsweek that ALPRs "invade people's privacy and violate the rights of entire communities, as they often are deployed in poor and historically overpoliced areas regardless of crime rates.
"And sharing ALPR data with law enforcement in states that criminalize abortion undermines California's extensive efforts to protect reproductive health privacy."
Pinsof added: "We appreciate Attorney General Bonta's commitment to upholding California law, and we hope he will keep pressing the remaining rogue agencies to comply."
Update 3/26/24, 4:15 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from the Sacramento Police Department and Jennifer Pinsof.
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