The bills going through Washington's legislature (where the original parent was talking about re: release via public information laws) do try and address this such that the systems aren't massive dragnets of everybody, always but far more targeted, I think.
See, for example, https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Ho... which would carve out:
An agency may access, operate, or use an automated license plate reader system and its associated data only for the following authorized purposes:
(a) Any law enforcement agency may use an automated license plate reader system for the purpose of comparing captured automated license
plate reader data with:
(i) Data on any of the following watch lists maintained by either a federal or Washington state agency: The department of licensing, the state criminal justice information system, the federal bureau of investigation kidnappings and missing persons list, and the Washington missing persons list; or
(ii) License plate numbers that have been manually entered into a state or local automated license plate reader system database, upon an officer's determination that the license plate numbers are relevant and material to an investigation of a vehicle that is:
(A) Stolen;
(B) Associated with a missing or endangered person;
(C) Registered to an individual for whom there is an outstanding
felony warrant; or
(D) Related to or involved in a felony.
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(b) Any parking enforcement agency may use an automated license
plate reader system for the following purposes:
(i) Enforcing time restrictions on the use of parking spaces; or
(ii) Identifying vehicles on a watch list for impoundment or immobilization under a local ordinance enacted under RCW 46.55.240,
provided the list includes only license plates of vehicles subject to
that ordinance.
(c) An automated license plate reader system may be used as a
component of photo toll systems authorized by RCW 47.56.795 or
47.46.105
(d) Any transportation agency may use an automated license plate
reader system for the following purposes:
(i) Providing real-time traffic information to the public,
traffic modeling, and traffic studies such as determining
construction delays and route use; and
(ii) Enforcing commercial vehicle systems at Washington state
patrol enforcement sites and weigh stations.
That said, the only thing that really stops them from being massive dragnets of everybody always would essentially be how they're configured, which obviously can change. I think we've seen enough misuse of systems and tools throughout history that it's worthwhile to be mindful of creating easily misused systems and tools.