A California Democrat hopes to pass legislation that would allow location-tracking technology on all “alternative” license plates and registration cards.

Democratic Rep. Lori Wilson wants to replace existing digital license plate legislation.

In October 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law allowing digital identifiers.

Wilson, who introduced the bill, at the time called digital license plates “a product of convenience” and said she was “committed to giving people freedom of choice here in the state of California.”

‘Locating, monitoring, watching, eavesdropping on or otherwise controlling the employee.’

The license plates mainly had features related to digital renewal of registration, as opposed to the traditional license plate sticker system or paper registration.

NPR reported at the time that the plates could be equipped with GPS tracking for employers or the owner themselves. Now Assemblywoman Wilson is pushing for new legislation, AB 3138, that would equip any vehicle equipped with one of the digital plates with “vehicle location technology.”

Digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation told Reclaim the Net that the new bill “directly undoes the 2022 deal and explicitly calls for location tracking in digital license plates for passenger vehicles.”

The bill further states that if the tracking equipment is used by an employer to “monitor employees”, this may only be done during working hours or if it is “strictly necessary for the performance of the employee’s duties”.

The bill defines “monitoring” as “locating, following, watching, eavesdropping on or otherwise controlling the employee.”

The lead developer of the new digital signage is Reviver, who also happens to be sponsoring AB 3138. Reviver is a California-based company that offers the effective computer screens called RPlate for $39.95 per month, or $699 up front.

The features are somewhat disappointing, including a “light or dark mode” with custom banner messages, in-app registration refresh, and “tamper-resistant mounting.”

Reviver was hacked in 2022, according to Autoweek , with hackers reportedly able to see the real-time location and registration address of the license plate owner. They could also remove or change the owner’s license plate 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 has a page that asks the question, “Can (the RPlate) be stolen or hacked?”

The answer is: “The RPlate Battery and RPlate Wired have tamper-resistant mounting, robust built-in anti-theft features, and communicate via secure cloud communications. We’ve taken steps to deter hackers and ensure all information is safe.”

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