Customer Rewards Being Used To Convince The Public to Accept 9,000 Private License Plate Readers

By MassPrivateI

The die has been cast, whether it is digital drivers licenses, digital license plates, license plate readers or facial recognition cameras. Everyone from private corporations to law enforcement follows the same script; offer Americans customer loyalty rewards programs in exchange for the loss of their privacy.

Surveillance politics and law enforcement regularly tout license plate readers as a necessary extension of public safety at the expense of our privacy. But now things have gotten out of control as a recent Quartz headline warned “In just two years, 9,000 of these cameras (ALPR) were installed to spy on your car.”

A Massachusetts company called Novume which recently acquired Open ALPR Technology Inc. boasts that their free software is being used by private corporations and governments in more than 9,000 private license plate readers worldwide.

Novume’s press release said,

OpenALPR Technology, Inc., a company that develops software for automatic license plate and vehicle recognition systems, announced that paid contracts for its artificial intelligence-based LPR solutions now cover over 9,200 cameras as the company achieved further penetration of the global vehicle recognition system market which is expected to reach $4.25B by 2023. This represents more than a 2,960% increase, from approximately 300 licensed cameras at the end of 2016, the year in which OpenALPR initiated sales.

Quartz’s article warned that “anyone who downloads it (Open ALPR) can turn a single web-connected camera into an automatic license plate reader that can monitor traffic across a four-lane highway with 99% accuracy.”

Quartz’s article also revealed what I have been warning people about for years, malls, towing companies, garbage trucks and more are secretly creating a private database of our daily travels.

It is time for the public to stand up to law enforcement and politicians and tell them we no longer believe their lies. Especially after Novume revealed how license plate reader companies plan to create a “global vehicle recognition market.”

License plate readers use customer loyalty rewards to gain acceptance

In the beginning of my story, I mentioned that customer loyalty rewards were being offered to Americans in exchange for the loss of their privacy. Novume’s Press Release page boasts about how they offer customer loyalty rewards to Smart City projects, educational facilities, parking management etc.

We’re excited to achieve the milestone of over 9,000 cameras, and to work through our pipeline to surpass 10,000 cameras and beyond in 2019, said Erik Strafford, OpenALPR’s Director of Business Development. Demand for LPR solutions continues to increase within industries like law enforcement, private security, smart city applications, parking management and customer loyalty programs, as well as security for corporate and educational facilities.

What will it take for people to fight back against Big Brother/corporate spying? 10,000 or 20,000 private license plate readers? Where will Americans finally draw the line?

Corporate/law enforcement loyalty rewards programs have become the norm.

It is time for Americans to see what is really behind the curtain [of public safety]. Americans need to see how customer loyalty rewards programs are part of a massive interconnected surveillance network.

Below is a list of 13 disturbing corporate/law enforcement customer loyalty rewards programs currently in use today.

Reviver Auto’s digital license plate “customer loyalty rewards program.”
IDEMIA’s digital drivers license “customer loyalty rewards program.”
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. “customer loyalty rewards program.”
Lincoln Motor Company uses a “customer loyalty rewards program” to convince drivers to accept CLEAR biometric scanners in their cars.
The Texas DOT has created an HOV “customer loyalty rewards program.”
E-ZPass’s national “driver loyalty rewards discount program.”
DHS/law enforcement’s Platinum spy on your neighbor cam-share “customer loyalty rewards program.”
Professional sports leagues across the country use “customer loyalty rewards programs” to convince the public to accept CLEAR biometric scanners.
Retailers and facial recognition companies plan to identify shoppers by offering them a “customer loyalty rewards program.”
Blackboard Transact’s plan to track college and high school students purchases by offering them a “customer loyalty rewards program.”
Numerous public transit “customer loyalty rewards programs.” (A Google search returned close to five million hits.)
Airline “customer loyalty rewards programs.” (A Google search returned close to 10 million hits.)
Novume’s license plate reader “customer loyalty rewards program.”

Sadly, this list will continue to grow until Americans realize that they are part of a master plan to track everyone and by then it might be too late.

You can read more at the MassPrivateI blog, where this article first appeared.