We Want Virginia to Stop Spying

Photo Credit: (Joe Fudge/ASSOCIATED PRESS) 

We Want Virginia to Stop Spying

Should government spy on its citizens without a warrant or reason? If you think so, you need read no further. If you think not, then you support bipartisan legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that would strictly limit the ability of government to collect information through “mass surveillance technology,” defined as the means to observe ordinary citizens without their knowledge or consent.

The legislation was spurred by the use of license-plate readers (LPRs), which allow law enforcement agencies to scan and register thousands of license plates in a matter of hours. Introduced in Northern Virginia in 2012, LPRs immediately drew the concern of civil libertarians because of their ability to vacuum up and hold data, including the identity and location of vehicles on roadways and in private parking lots.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-want-virginia-to-stop-spying/2015/04/10/817c389a-da4b-11e4-8103-fa84725dbf9d_story.html