Federal program compels cities to share license plate data

Some local police departments are being required to send automated license plate reader data to federal databases controlled by the White House. These orders, the result of a decades-old anti-drug grant program, let federal agencies keep and search this data for much longer and more widely than most people realize. Residents probably have no idea how many agencies can access their driving history.

• Feds use anti-drug grants to require data sharing
• Automated license plate reader data goes into federal systems
• Federal agencies can keep and search data beyond local limits
• Extent of access is broader than local residents expect