License Plate Readers

Dozens of California Law Enforcement Agencies Illegally Sharing License Plate Reader Data

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According to documents disclosed from public records requests, dozens of California law enforcement agencies are illegally sharing license plate reader data with federal and out-of-state agencies.

California law enforcement agencies including the California Highway Patrol (CHP), Fresno County Sheriff, Newport Beach Police Department (PD), West Covina PD, Oakley PD, San Pablo PD, Pleasanton PD, and Pittsburg PD produced documents indicating that they were illegally sharing license plate reader data with federal agencies, including Customs and Border Protection.

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License Plate Readers

UC Merced Police Illegally Shared License Plate Reader Data

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A data sharing report from a public records request we filed on March 3, 2026, revealed that the UC Merced Police Department was sharing license plate reader data with federal and out-of-state agencies in violation of California state law.

 The report showed that the UC Merced Police Department was sharing license plate reader with eight federal agencies, including the Border Patrol and the National Targeting Center of Customs and Border Protection. UC Merced PD also shared its license plate reader data with 258 out-of-state agencies in nearly 40 states. Sharing license plate reader data with federal and out-of-state agencies was made illegal by SB34, which was passed in 2015 and went into effect in 2016.

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License Plate Readers

Modesto Police Illegally Shared License Plate Reader Data Since at Least 2021

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The Modesto Police Department revealed that it had been sharing license plate reader data with federal agencies in violation of California state law after we filed a public records request for agencies with whom Modesto Police shared that data. In response to our public records request for license plate reader data sharing information in February 2026, the Modesto Police Department changed its sharing configuration before providing the requested records.

California law enforcement agencies are prohibited from sharing license plate reader data with federal and out-of-state agencies under SB 34, which went into effect in 2016.

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Homeland Security

CA Preparing To Load DMV Info to National Real ID Database

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The State of California, 21 years after the original passage of the Real ID Act of 2005, and during the most dangerous federal administration seen to date, is preparing to upload state Department of Motor Vehicles data to the private Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators Database (AAMVA). The upload is expected to be authorized in the upcoming state budget.

AAMVA is a private not for profit owned by the DMV’s of the 50 states. It provides a host of data verification services to motor vehicle departments through its aamvanet system, which connects to all DMV’s and a host of federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Selective Service and Homeland Security.

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Uncategorized

San Clemente Fights Anduril Tower Deployment

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In January, the Orange County beach town became the second inland location for Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) march up the California coast with Anduril surveillance towers. The City Council approved a lease with the Border Patrol for land on a ridge above the town for the huge tower, ostensibly for the purpose of watching the sea for incoming migrant boats, and for the whopping fee of $10. In total. While the City Council does not yet seem to have seller’s remorse, much of the town does (the tower has not yet been deployed) and a town hall meeting was held to discuss the matter. Oakland Privacy’s research director Mike Katz-Lacabe was happy to provide his expertise to the community about the equipment and its technical capabilities. Anduril Industries is Palmer Luckey’s military defense outfit and has been the primary contractor for the so-called “digital border wall” which is now creeping further and further away from the US-Mexico border.

We’re happy to bring you video of the town hall event, a copy of Mike’s presentation, and some other resources on Anduril’s northward creep.

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Data Privacy

Perspectives on Amending the Publicly Available Information Exemption of the California Privacy Rights Act

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You probably didn’t know that between 2018 and 2020, your privacy rights under California’s state privacy law took a hit when the definition of publicly available information was made a lot bigger via ballot initiative. Now, state senator Aisha Wahab from Hayward is trying to change it back to the way it used to be. Oakland Privacy intern Samuel Leitch fills us in on what publicly available information exemptions mean and why they matter.

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