3 ms·
That ignores the utility of license plates for closing crimes. E.g. there was a day when I was in elementary school, my siblings and I had been picked up by my
by hga 12y ago
That ignores the utility of license plates for closing crimes. E.g. there was a day when I was in elementary school, my siblings and I had been picked up by my father, and he was about to make a left turn at a T that was also the crossing of a very dangerous road, one manned by a professional crossing guard vs. the student ones for suburban roads. A jerk blew right through it, almost ran down the crossing guard who threw her stop sign at him (I think she may have hit his vehicle), and my father was perfectly placed to make a fast left turn and follow the guy long enough to get his license plate. And he was busted based on my father's report.
I don't see any way to square a RFID scheme with the need, or at least desire, to make such identifications.
- rpedroso 12y agoAt the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the utility of some means of surveillance in apprehending criminals is not itself a good enough criterion for justifying any means of surveillance. If it were, so the hyperbolic argument goes, we could minimize crime by locking people in cages. Of course, the two extremes are ridiculous and so we use a balancing test: how does the state's compelling interest compare to the cost to personal liberties. If 99.8% of license scans/photos are not useful for apprehending criminals, then I'm not sure the technology can be justified. Moreover, as the parent points out, license metadata is another tool that could be used by third parties (e.g. advertisers, insurance providers, etc). It seems to me like the RFID suggestion could solve (or at least help alleviate) the problem of third party scanning while preserving some of that utility for the police. This, combined with reasonable retention limits (14-21 days) would make the whole matter much more palatable to me.
- fnordfnordfnord 12y agoPersonally, I tihnk the example you describe is rare and that most of the time eye-witnesses and even cameras only get a partial plate, if anything at all.
- oh_sigh 12y agoHow frequently is your privacy violated by having your license plate on public display? Is that also rare?
- mvid 12y agoThe point of the article is that your license plate being on public display allows for perpetual privacy violation, at rates that are only increasing.
- Create 12y agoHe said, "Because I don't have a license plate." I think he felt the normal rules just shouldn't apply to him. http://www.thewire.com/technology/2011/10/how-steve-jobs-got-away-not-having-license-plate/44224/ http://www.thewire.com/technology/2011/10/how-steve-jobs-got... http://www.cultofmac.com/126338/why-steve-jobs-mercedes-never-had-a-license-plate/ http://www.cultofmac.com/126338/why-steve-jobs-mercedes-neve... http://www.ehow.com/how_6197310_track-car-using-cell-phone.html http://www.ehow.com/how_6197310_track-car-using-cell-phone.h...
- fnordfnordfnord 12y agoI can't say because I don't have any way to tell if an ALPR system has recorded my presence somewhere. I think that it is not rare, and that it becomes less rare every day.