Axon Sued in California Over Its AI-Powered Licence Plate Reader Network

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco, Reuters reported. It claims Axon did not disclose how it collects, uses and shares the plate data captured by its cameras, as a California privacy provision requires. The proposed class covers drivers whose plates have been captured by an automated reader in the state and processed or stored by Axon's system since 2023.

According to the complaint, Axon runs more than 1,000 cameras in California, some in high-traffic locations and others mounted on police vehicles, and millions of drivers may be affected. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $5 million in damages and a court order to stop the alleged practices. Axon did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

The suit adds to legal pressure on a business that has been growing quickly as police departments move away from Axon's main rival in plate readers, Flock Safety. Flock faces its own class action in California, filed in February, alleging that it shared plate data with police outside the state and with federal authorities, which Flock has said it will fight. Last month, the Reno City Council voted 5-2 to expand its contract with Axon to cover plate readers and other AI tools, after residents had asked it to drop such cameras. Some other local governments have also replaced Flock with Axon.

Axon faces a separate case in state court. In August, three California residents sued the company in Alameda County Superior Court. They allege that Fusus, its cloud platform for police, works as a searchable plate database without the published usage and privacy policy that California's Civil Code section 1798.90.5 requires. That complaint says Axon's Fleet 3 in-car camera alone has read more than 8.1 billion plates, and it seeks statutory damages of at least $2,500 per violation. Axon has not yet responded to that suit.

Neither complaint has been tested in court, and the allegations are unproven.