Highway Surveillance (H 5989)

This legislation seeks to address the use of technology and sharing of data on Rhode Island’s highways. Last year, the General Assembly authorized the highway truck toll program, which included the use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs). ALPRs capture not only an individual’s license plate, but record the time and GPS location of every car on the road. Unregulated, this data becomes a historical record of the movements of every car on the road, allowing for a significant invasion of every driver’s privacy. At the time the Toll Legislation was approved, many legislators acknowledged the need to address this issue. This legislation would require that law enforcement have a warrant to conduct surveillance through technology used in highway surveillance.