Adam Smith
Role at the time: U.S. representative for Washington's 9th district, in an emailed statement from his office
Statement summary
Rep. Adam Smith said in a statement sent by his office that unregulated police use of automated license plate readers poses a real risk to security and privacy, citing reports of warrantless use by federal agencies including ICE, officers tracking current and former partners, and false flags leading to wrongful arrests. He said use of the technology should be suspended until thoughtful federal safeguards are in place, and that legitimate investigations require guardrails like warrants.
“Notably, false flags from the system have already led to wrongful arrests and long detentions. The use of these technologies should be suspended until thoughtful federal safeguards are in place.”
Read the full email
Everyone deserves to live in a safe community, but the unregulated use of technologies including ALPRs by law enforcement poses a real risk to the security and privacy of our communities. I am deeply concerned by reports that federal agencies, including ICE, use data from ALPRs without a warrant to further their climate of fear, confrontation and violence. There are also extremely troubling reports that law enforcement officials have misused the database to track current and former partners. Notably, false flags from the system have already led to wrongful arrests and long detentions. The use of these technologies should be suspended until thoughtful federal safeguards are in place. Legitimate investigations require guardrails, like warrants, for a reason. This prevents frivolous and unethical inquires that breach privacy and prevents law enforcement from acting in a manner similar the Trump Administration’s signature of targeting individuals for investigation without evidence they did anything wrong. We need to strengthen our communities and local governments, so they are empowered to address crime at a local level. But law enforcement must operate with clear guardrails, transparency, and real accountability. Congress has an obligation to uphold privacy and civil liberties. As technology continues to advance, I will continue working in the House to protect and expand protections for privacy.
Press Secretary Erin Diehl sent this statement by email, attributed to Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), in reply to a Dispute Index request about license plate readers. The link is to the congressman's official website; the statement itself is not published there. The text is reproduced as sent.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Smith calls for suspending use until federal safeguards, such as warrant requirements, are in place, so his position depends on those safeguards rather than rejecting the systems outright. We labeled it Mixed or conditional with the Pause or moratorium step.