Yasmin Trudeau and Jeff Holy: Bipartisan bill balances privacy and technology to solve crimes

By state Sens. Yasmin Trudeau and Jeff Holy

Technology has many benefits. It also presents many challenges and concerns. The automated license-plate reader cameras around our state are a prime example.

Many police departments in our state have adopted this new surveillance technology in recent years. Automated license-plate readers are found in many places, from police patrol cars to utility poles. These devices collect incredible amounts of information and data, taking photos of vehicles and using artificial intelligence to analyze what is gathered. In one town in Virginia, their license-plate reader system was found to be taking about 41 million photos of passing cars for AI analysis in just one month.

These cameras allow access to extraordinary amounts of personal information about people’s lives. It can track any movement or travel between locations in real time. It can reveal where someone lives and works. It can reveal where their children attend school. It can reveal the most personal and private activities someone might be involved in.

This is an astronomical amount of data about our daily lives. Both the gathering and sharing of it, without an individual’s knowledge, creates major concerns about surveillance tactics and the potential infringement of people’s expectation of personal privacy. Right now, our state has no regulation or oversight over these powerful technologies, essentially putting all Washingtonians’ privacy interests at risk.

But privacy matters in Washington. Our state constitution is clear, and it is even more protective than the U.S. Constitution when it comes to individual privacy. We need to ensure our laws on surveillance live up to that promise. As lawmakers, it is our responsibility to respond to community concerns when surveillance technology is deployed in our state.

This is why, this year, we teamed up to make sure Washington joins at least 16 other states in adopting clear standards that not only protect privacy but also ensure that these powerful tools are used responsibly. We want to ensure that everyone knows the rules and that there are clear consequences when those rules are broken.

The result of our collaboration is Senate Bill 6002, the Driver Privacy Act. This proposal would allow automated license-plate readers to be used to search for stolen vehicles, to find missing or endangered people, and locate people with felony warrants or vehicles that are connected to a felony investigation. The cameras also could be used for vehicle tolling, parking enforcement and for real-time traffic information by transportation agencies.

The bill would also put restrictions in place to limit the sharing of data to those who could misuse it or violate our existing state laws. That means the tool remains available for legitimate purposes, while restricting the ability for it to be misused.

This is a pragmatic approach that would give this bill a proper balance between preserving privacy for individuals and ensuring that law enforcement has the tools they need to solve serious crimes.

Both political parties in the Senate often approach legislation from different perspectives. But when we can find common ground, like protecting the privacy of our constituents, it is important that we work together to achieve good public policy. The result of our work on this bill was a strong and bipartisan vote in favor.

We hope the House of Representatives will join us in passing this important bill so our state can finally have a foundation for continuing to use this technology while respecting the privacy rights of all Washingtonians.

Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, is vice chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee. Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, is ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee.