The cameras have come under scrutiny by some lawmakers and activists in recent months after CT Insider reported that data collected by local police departments' license plate cameras was searched thousands of times by out-of-state agencies for immigration enforcement purposes. The cameras take pictures of the back of vehicles and their license plates as they drive by.
Big-box retailers that use the cameras can also share data with out-of-state law enforcement and other agencies, CT Insider reported this month, but questions remain on who the stores are sharing data with.
The letter from lawmakers, addressed to Lowe's President and CEO Marvin R. Ellison and Home Depot President and CEO Edward Decker, asks the companies a series of eight questions about their data retention and sharing polices.
"Companies should be forthcoming and say what the motivation is for using these things, how they are using it and why," state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk told CT Insider.
Lawmakers passed a law this session governing the use of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, by police departments in Connecticut. The bill, signed by Gov. Ned Lamont this month, enacts strict data sharing and retention policies and also prohibits the use of the systems for immigration enforcement. It does not address private companies that have the cameras.
"It’s extremely frustrating to feel like we have taken a giant step to solve the problem, only to find out that these license plate readers are on private property and we don’t know what’s happening with the information," Duff said.
Home Depot previously told CT Insider that their cameras are used to detect and prevent theft and for safety purposes, but did answer a question on whether out-of-state agencies can access data from the cameras at Connecticut stores. Lowe's has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Some police departments in Connecticut have entered into written agreements with retailers in their towns to allow them automatic and continuous access for searches on data collected at stores, CT Insider reported last month.
The letter asks the companies if out-of state law enforcement agencies are accessing data from the cameras, whether a judicial warrant is required to share with any agencies and whether the companies have any data retention limits.
"ALPRs, while a useful tool for security and theft prevention, have the potential to be misused to track Connecticut residents, raising concerns not only about privacy in general, but also concerns about bad actors using ALPR data to enable stalking and harassment," the letter read.
The letter was signed by Duff, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, Sen. James Maroney, D-Milford, Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Windham, Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport and Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford.
Blumenthal, who was a proponent of automated license plate reader regulation this past session, said that lawmakers need answers from the companies that could inform any potential future legislation.
"The first step to figuring out what policies are appropriate is understanding the scope of the use of ALPRs by private entities," said Blumenthal. "Hopefully, Lowe’s and Home Depot’s response to the letter will help inform what sort of policy prescription would be appropriate and necessary."
The Government Administration and Elections Committee, which Blumenthal co-chairs, was one of three committees this past session that put forward license plate reader legislation. Ultimately, leadership across the committees worked together on the final version of the regulation that was passed.
"We worked really hard this past session to protect our residents from these automatic license pate readers, what is happening with the weaponization of them, especially by our federal government, and to put parameters on them because there were no parameters before," said Duff.
After the legislation was signed into law last month, and days after CT Insider reported on the privately owned license plate cameras, lawmakers started looking towards what legislative action might be necessary next year to keep up with the quickly changing surveillance technology landscape.
"Most people when they go to a big box store or a Home Depot and Lowe’s are not anticipating being surveilled in this way" Blumenthal said. "We need to understand the scope of the problem."
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