Entertainingly, this is already regulated in an inconsistent manner in some states. In Virginia, for example, the government has some fairly broad restrictions

Entertainingly, this is already regulated in an inconsistent manner in some states. In Virginia, for example, the government has some fairly broad restrictions on collection and retention of personal data, but to the best of my knowledge no civil counterpart exists. See this recent case on the matter: https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/location-tracking/virginia-supreme-court-sees-through-police-claim-license https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/location-tracki... In fact, they're so worried about government abuse there that another bill seeking to severely limit retention of license plate reader data passed both the house and senate before being vetoed by the governor over "public safety concerns". Article about it: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/03/virginia-passes-shortest-limit-in-us-on-keeping-license-plate-reader-data/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/03/virginia-passes-... Bill details: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+sum+SB965 http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?151+sum+SB965 Best quote ever: > Senator: "I wasn't a criminal suspect, so why are they taking pictures of me?"