A California Democrat is hoping to pass legislation that will allow location tracking technology on all "alternative" license plates and registration cards.
Democratic Assemblywoman Lori Wilson is looking to replace existing legislation about digital license plates.
In October 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that allowed the digital identifiers.
Wilson, who sponsored the bill, called the digital plates at the time "a product of convenience" and claimed she is "all about giving people choice here in the state of California."
'Locating, tracking, watching, listening to, or otherwise surveilling the employee.'
The plates boasted features predominantly pertaining to the digital renewal of registration as opposed to a traditional license plate sticker system or paper registration.
NPR reported at the time that the plates were capable of being equipped with GPS tracking for employers or for the owner themselves. Now, Assemblywoman Wilson is advocating for new legislation, AB 3138, which would have any vehicle that is fitted with one of the digital plates include "vehicle location technology."
Digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation told Reclaim the Net that the new bill "directly undoes the deal from 2022 and explicitly calls for location tracking in digital license plates for passenger cars."
The bill goes on to state that if the tracking devices are used by an employer to "monitor employees," it can only be done during work hours or if it is "strictly necessary for the performance of the employee's duties."
In the bill, "monitor" is defined as including "locating, tracking, watching, listening to, or otherwise surveilling the employee."
The leading developer of the new digital plates is Reviver, who also happens to be sponsoring AB 3138. Reviver is a California-based company that offers the effective computer screens called the RPlate for $39.95 per month, or $699 outright.
Its features are rather underwhelming, which include "light or dark mode" with custom banner messaging, in-app registration renewal, and "tamper-proof mounting."
Reviver was hacked in 2022, according to Autoweek, with hackers allegedly able to see the real-time location and registration address of the plate owner. They could also delete or alter the owner's tag or mislabel the vehicle as stolen. Reviver responded by applying a patch to protect against the vulnerabilities that were exploited in its software.
The company's website even features a page that asks "can [the RPlate] be stolen or hacked?"
Its answer reads, "The RPlate Battery and RPlate Wired have tamper-proof mounting, robust built-in anti-theft features, and communicate using secure cloud communication. We have taken measures to deter hacking and ensure all information is secure."
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