Civil rights group requests info on E-ZPass data collection
By MATTHEW DONDIEGO
One of New York's leading civil rights groups has made a formal request to a number of New York City and state agencies, requesting documents pertaining to information on how E-ZPass scanners are used to collect and store information on drivers.
The New York Civil Liberties Union filed FOIL requests with the New York Police Department, the New York City Department of Transportation and the state Department of Transportation seeking detailed information on the data-collection practices being used in Manhattan and throughout the state, following an impromptu "investigation" conducted by NYCLU Legislative Counsel Nate Vogel and an unnamed privacy activist only known as Puking Monkey.
According to the NYCLU, the activist developed a cow-disguised device that lights up each time an E-ZPass scanner is detected. Riding around Manhattan with the activist and his device, Vogel filmed a Youtube video of the cow-device detecting a number of E-ZPass scanners throughout Midtown and Lower Manhattan — not located near bridges and tolls where E-ZPass users would expect to have their pass scanned.
Vogel, while acknowledging the benefits of the E-ZPass system, notes the mass-data consumption by the state needs to be clear and transparently available to the public.
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-01-13-86380.113122-Civil-rights-group-requests-info-on-EZPass-data-collection.html
