Across the United States, companies are quietly building vast databases of where Americans go, what they drive, and even what they believe, just by snapping photos of their vehicles.
It started with tracking license plates for repossession, but the cameras are capturing much more.
According to Wired, DRN Data, a company owned by Motorola Solutions, equips repo trucks and private investigators with mobile license plate readers (LPRs).
These cameras photograph everything they pass, including homes, political signs, bumper stickers, and even people wearing clothes with slogans.
All of it is uploaded into a searchable database.
Searchable Beliefs
In one case, a search for “Trump” returned more than 150 images showing yards with campaign signs and vehicles with bumper stickers.
None of the images were filtered out for not containing a license plate.
“I searched for the word ‘believe,’ and that is all lawn signs,” said artist and licensed private investigator Julia Weist, who gained access to the system. “Then someone wearing a sweatshirt that says ‘Believe.’”
What’s even more concerning is that these images come with timestamps and GPS coordinates, making it easy to pinpoint where and when they were taken.
Weist, who was researching surveillance for her art, found that searches could also turn up Planned Parenthood bumper stickers, both for and against, and even flyers for lost pets.
“Any number of times is too many times, especially when it’s finding stuff like what people are wearing or lawn signs,” she told Wired.
A Defense of Surveillance
DRN says it complies with all laws and that the technology helps recover stolen vehicles and stop fraud.
“The DRNsights tool allows authorized parties to access license plate information and associated vehicle information that is captured in public locations and visible to all,” DRN president Jeremiah Wheeler said in a statement to Wired.
But the American Civil Liberties Union says the scope of this surveillance is troubling.
“That surveillance is not limited just to license plates, but also to a lot of other potentially very revealing information about people,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU.
Border Patrol Gets Involved
Meanwhile, the U.S. Border Patrol has built its own massive network of LPRs far beyond the border, using predictive algorithms to flag drivers with “suspicious” travel patterns.
According to the Associated Press, these systems often lead to traffic stops under minor pretexts, like speeding or a blocked windshield, when the real reason is a tip from federal agents watching driver data.
Real People, Real Stops
In February 2025, a Texas truck driver named Lorenzo Gutierrez Lugo was pulled over and arrested after agents flagged his route. He was carrying packages for immigrant families and several thousand dollars in cash.
Authorities found nothing illegal, and no charges were filed. His employer later spent $20,000 in legal fees to clear his name and recover his trailer.
Another man, Alek Schott, was pulled over outside San Antonio after making an overnight trip from Houston.
Agents had tracked his route and flagged it as suspicious. Officers held him for over an hour and found nothing. Schott sued and told the AP, “I didn’t know it was illegal to drive in Texas.”
A Growing, Hidden System
The AP found that Border Patrol uses hidden cameras disguised as traffic barrels, partners with private firms like Flock and Vigilant, and pays local police through federal grants to join in.
A program called Operation Stonegarden funds equipment and overtime for local officers assisting with border enforcement.
A Quiet Dragnet
The result is a system that collects massive amounts of data about ordinary people, without their knowledge.
“They are collecting mass amounts of information about who people are, where they go, what they do, and who they know,” said Nicole Ozer of UC Law San Francisco. “These surveillance systems do not make communities safer.”
What started as repossession and border security has grown into a quiet, nationwide dragnet.
And in many cases, it’s catching people who’ve done nothing wrong.