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A group of civil liberties and immigrant support organizations is suing San José, alleging the city’s widespread use of hundreds of automated license plate readers amounts to a “deeply invasive” mass surveillance system that violates residents’ rights to privacy in California.
The city’s current arsenal of readers, often mounted on streetlight poles, is approaching 500, following an aggressive expansion push last year headed up by San José’s Police Chief Paul Joseph and Mayor Matt Mahan, under the banner of improved safety for residents. The lawsuit said the cameras scanned more than 361 million license plates last year in the city.
San José is far from alone in relying heavily on mass surveillance technologies, and not the only city to be sued for its alleged misuse…