You won't believe what Seattle's doing with license plate readers

Okay, so you know how sometimes you’re driving down California Avenue SW, maybe heading to Paper Boat Booksellers for their new book swap, and you get that little prickle like you're being watched? Well, I mean, it might not just be your imagination anymore, for sure. The Mayor just ordered all those automated license plate readers on Seattle Police vehicles to be temporarily turned off. Temporarily! Like, ki hoya? We're talking about hundreds of these things, apparently, just scanning away as you drive past Dick's on your way to Capitol Hill.

It’s one thing when you’re talking about actual crime, I get it. But the fact that they're on so many police cars, just constantly collecting data about where everyone is and where they’ve been? That just feels super... not Seattle, you know? Like, we value our privacy here, even if it sometimes translates to the 'Seattle Freeze' instead of just saying hi. It feels like a step toward something out of a sci-fi novel, not just a casual drive down Lake City Way. The fact that this is even a thing, that they *had* to be ordered off, makes me wonder what else is just quietly running in the background.

I mean, bus karo with all this constant surveillance. Can't we just enjoy a clear day when Rainier's out, everything's forgiven, and not worry that our car is tattling on our morning coffee run? It's like, let's focus on the actual issues, not turning our streets into some kind of data-collection grid.

That's Seattle — Rainier's out, everything's forgiven.

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