Your Driving History is Public, Unless You Want a Copy

From the moment they were reported, the Edward Snowden leaks
captured the public’s attention and raised the specter of mass
surveillance. That surveillance is not just being carried about by
large clandestine intelligence organizations like the National
Security Agency (NSA), either. Following the lead of their federal
counterparts, local police departments are now getting in on the
action.

One example is Monroe County, New York, where police are using
high-speed cameras to monitor and record the whereabouts of
vehicles. The scale of this surveillance is reminiscent of the

NSA’s “collect it all” motto. From
The Intercept:

As of July, the County’s database contained 3.7 million records,
with the capability to add thousands more each day.

Monroe County justified its warrantless surveillance by claiming
that people have no expectation of privacy when they drive in
public. This is despite a 2012
Supreme Court ruling in which the majority held that
individuals do have an expectation of privacy when it comes to
their long-term whereabouts, even when driving in public.

But no need to worry—Monroe County is committed to protecting
your privacy­. At least that’s what it claimed when the
Democrat & Chronicle filed a freedom of information
law (FOIL) request for the records on seven of its journalists.
Again from The Intercept:

The request was denied on the basis that releasing the data
could be an invasion of personal privacy or could interfere with a
law enforcement investigation.

Even putting aside the unlikely possibility that all seven
journalists are subjects in ongoing criminal investigations, this
justification makes little sense. How can Monroe County police
claim that no expectation of privacy exists when they conduct
surveillance, and then claim that it would be a violation of
privacy for people to access the records of their own
whereabouts?

If Monroe County actually respects residents’ privacy, it should
end warrantless surveillance and cease violating people’s
Fourth Amendment rights. Failing that, it could at least
mandate that whoever handles the county’s FOIL requests undergo
some training in basic logic.