San Jose Inside | November 25, 2025
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and ACLU of Northern California have filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court on behalf of SIREN and CAIR-CA challenging the San Jose Police Department’s use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs). The suit argues that San Jose’s practice of storing drivers’ location data for a year and allowing officers across the state to search it without a warrant violates the California Constitution’s strong protections for privacy and against unreasonable searches.
“This is not just about data or technology—it’s about power, accountability, and our right to move freely without being watched ... For Muslim communities, and for anyone who has experienced profiling, the knowledge that police can track your every move without cause is chilling. San Jose’s mass surveillance program violates the California Constitution and undermines the privacy rights of every person who drives through the city. We’re going to court to make sure those protections still mean something."
