The Institute for Justice (IJ), a public interest law firm, is suing Norfolk, Virginia, over its use of 176 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, arguing the system constitutes an unconstitutional mass surveillance network. The U.S. government has formally sided with the city, asserting that Americans have no reasonable expectation of privacy on public roads. The lawsuit highlights how ALPRs from vendors like Flock Safety collect vast amounts of location data on ordinary citizens, which can be mined to reveal sensitive personal patterns. IJ also notes that federal agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, have gained access to these local databases, sometimes circumventing state privacy laws. The press release frames the lawsuit as a critical battle against warrantless government tracking and part of IJ’s broader Plate Privacy Project, which has successfully challenged ALPR programs elsewhere in the country.