FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers (404media.co) 30
The FBI is seeking up to $36 million for nationwide access to automated license plate reader (ALPRs) data, which could let it query vehicle movements across the U.S. and its territories through a commercial database. 404 Media reports: "The FBI has a crucial need for accessible LPRs to provide a diverse and reliable range of collections across the United States. This data should be available across major highways and in an array of locations for maximum usefulness to law enforcement," a statement of work, which describes what data the FBI is seeking access to, reads. ALPR cameras generally work by constantly scanning the color, brand, model, and license plate of vehicles that drive by. This creates a timestamped record of where a particular vehicle was at a specific time that law enforcement can then query, effectively letting them see exactly where someone drove across time. The technology has existed for decades, but has become more pervasive in recent years.
The FBI says it is looking for a vendor that will let it log into a Software-as-a-Service system and then query the collected ALPR data with license plate information, a description of the vehicle, a time or date, and geolocation information. The FBI says it is looking for ALPR coverage in the following areas: Eastern 48 (East of the Mississippi River); Western 48 (West of the Mississippi River); Hawaii; Puerto Rico; Alaska; and outlying areas such as Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Tribal Territories. In effect, the FBI is looking for ALPR data nationwide and even beyond. An attached price template indicates the FBI is willing to pay $6 million for each of those broad areas, bringing the total to $36 million.
The FBI says it intends to award the contract to a single vendor, but if any such vendor is unable to fulfill all of the requirements, the agency may award the contract to up to two vendors. The contract is specifically for the FBI's Directorate of Intelligence, which oversees the agency's intelligence mission. The FBI is not only a law enforcement agency, but also part of the Intelligence Community. The report notes that the contract appears aimed at vendors like Flock or Motorola Solutions, since they're some of the only companies able to provide the sort of data the FBI is seeking.
Further reading: Small Town Fights Over Flock's AI-Enhanced Network of License Plate-Reading Cameras
The FBI says it is looking for a vendor that will let it log into a Software-as-a-Service system and then query the collected ALPR data with license plate information, a description of the vehicle, a time or date, and geolocation information. The FBI says it is looking for ALPR coverage in the following areas: Eastern 48 (East of the Mississippi River); Western 48 (West of the Mississippi River); Hawaii; Puerto Rico; Alaska; and outlying areas such as Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Tribal Territories. In effect, the FBI is looking for ALPR data nationwide and even beyond. An attached price template indicates the FBI is willing to pay $6 million for each of those broad areas, bringing the total to $36 million.
The FBI says it intends to award the contract to a single vendor, but if any such vendor is unable to fulfill all of the requirements, the agency may award the contract to up to two vendors. The contract is specifically for the FBI's Directorate of Intelligence, which oversees the agency's intelligence mission. The FBI is not only a law enforcement agency, but also part of the Intelligence Community. The report notes that the contract appears aimed at vendors like Flock or Motorola Solutions, since they're some of the only companies able to provide the sort of data the FBI is seeking.
Further reading: Small Town Fights Over Flock's AI-Enhanced Network of License Plate-Reading Cameras
Clarification: This isn't about tracking us (Score:1, Troll)
They're having a horrible time right now keeping tabs on Kash Patel, who goes on random road trips without notice and is often too drunk to answer the phone.
Re:They need to track drunk Kash (Score:2)
Training AI to spot those eyes should be child's play. (Unless it flags too many owls to be useful.)
Re: (Score:2)
At least they can find his girlfriend.
Quantico Colonoscopy (Score:5, Insightful)
You KNEW this was coming (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
People here just drive around with black license plate covers or blurry out of state temp plates. Nothing much happens.
It's Not the FBI's Money--It's Ours (Score:4, Insightful)
^This (Score:2)
I agree, however I do not have hope we can toss out license plates.
We need to make it more difficult, if not impossible for tracking to be automated by private entities.
Push the linking of license plate to owner as far from federal government and as close to local governance as possible.
And have strong transparency to who is accessing the information.
My proposal is the "Privacy Plate": https://invalidinventions.com/... [invalidinventions.com]
Re: (Score:2)
So, what's the point here? To produce a 21st century version of the James Bond plate flipper?
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.37.685 [wa.gov]
Personally, I prefer mud. It's a small traffic infraction by comparison.
Re: (Score:2)
do what they do in the UK cut them down. Or since this is the USA shoot them.
They just want to track their acoholic chief (Score:1, Troll)
Big Brother can watch THIS! (Score:1)
I trust those guys as far as I can throw Donald, and I have a bad back.
Re: (Score:2)
Price (Score:3)
Federal Bribery and Taxpayer Abuse. (Score:5, Insightful)
FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers
Translation: A Federal agency purposely fucking bound by Constitutional limits within the Bill of Rights, is now so openly corrupt that they are brazenly requesting to spend taxpayer money in order to buy that which they are not allowed to legally capture.
You want new toys to do your job? Start remembering the fucking law first, children.
We the People, need to end the data broker loophole.
Re: (Score:3)
They've been doing it for dozens of years. I'm 100% with you. How are companies like Flock and Motorola Solutions allowed to do this? If We the People were being represented, we'd have strong privacy laws, and no crooked company would be allowed to record us.
Let me guess ... (Score:4, Insightful)
The FBI says it intends to award the contract to a single vendor, ...
Like with re-surfacing the Reflecting Pool, Trump will "know a guy, that's done work for him" - that he'll later say he's never heard of - and it will end up being be a no-bid contract for $35M, that will end up actually being a large multiple of that, which we find out from a reporter who Trump will call treasonous and/or stupid - for pointing out inconvenient facts/truth. In any case, just another avenue for corruption, at our expense. /s
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Assuming the contractor actually gets paid.
Crowd sourced license plate database (Score:3)
If you can't beat em might as well join em. Everyone should just create a network of spy cameras /w opencv or something and let anyone browse the database. That should piss off enough people to end this madness.
Re: (Score:3)
Except when they make that illegal. They could do do by requiring a license to operate such a data collecting operation.
Regulatory capture combined with rent seeking.
I mean (Score:2)
they're not just going to subpoena it? Use a FISA (warrantless) "warrant"?
It's very attractive (Score:2)
You don't monitor all the ALPR in the nation live - you set up a system where every ALPR installation has a 'wanted' database and reports hits. Typically the list would be updated daily and be built from a mix of local, state/province, and federal records. The systems have a mandatory retention policy to only keep hits against the wanted list.
But then you get somebody who catches on to the great idea that it should be retroactive. Force all those endpoints to hold their plate data for as long as the sto
Doesn't bother me. (Score:2)
I am not for this, but that does not matter! (Score:2)
No one was ever held accountable for the history of fake evidence and outright lies used to get FISA judges to hop to so the FBI could attack their political enemies.
The FISA court is a joke and a lie.