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Organizer tells Austin Technology Commission to condemn automated license-plate readers
Summary
Marina Roberts of the No ALPRs Coalition urged the commission to pass a resolution condemning ALPRs, saying the devices create brokered location databases, enable misuse by law enforcement and have produced wrongful arrests; commissioners thanked her and signaled they would relay technical advice to council.
Marina Roberts, an organizer with the No ALPRs Coalition, told the City of Austin Technology Commission on July 8 that the city should condemn automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) and oppose their use in any form.
"ALPRs are devices affixed to infrastructure that record photos, video, and even audio that is transformed by AI into queryable databases of location information about us," Roberts said, urging commissioners to pass a resolution opposing the technology. She said vendors operate as data brokers and that data captured during Austin's ALPR pilot was copied to private servers and brokered for profit rather than remaining under city control.
Roberts also raised specific concerns about misuse and accuracy, saying ALPRs have enabled stalking by law enforcement and led to wrongful arrests that disproportionately harmed people of color. She told the commission that "during Austin's ALPR pilot, 20% of APD's ALPR searches were made without a proper investigative purpose entered," a statistic she presented to highlight potential abuse.
Commissioners thanked Roberts for the testimony and the chair, Steven Apodaca, said the commission would consider collaborating with community groups and providing technical expertise to city council. Apodaca said the commission would work with the clerk's office if members decide to put a formal endorsement or recommendation on a future agenda.
The commission did not take a formal vote on ALPRs during this meeting. The public comment was recorded as part of the meeting record and will inform future discussion and any formal recommendations that the commission forwards to council.
