Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Federal Surveillance Program

The Trump administration is using a 1980s anti-drug trafficking grant program called HIDTA to compel cities to funnel their automated license plate reader data into federal surveillance centers, creating a massive database accessible to multiple federal, state, and local agencies. This system circumvents local privacy restrictions by allowing federal agencies like the DEA to access data through the "National License Plate Reader Program" without direct contracts or apparent oversight. The arrangement raises significant transparency concerns as it enables federal surveillance that might otherwise be restricted at the local level.