Constitutional Rights
Your 4th Amendment Rights
The Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable government searches. Courts and legal scholars are actively debating whether mass license plate scanning qualifies as one. South Carolina's own constitution may offer even stronger protections than federal law.
Point 01
Carpenter v. United States (2018)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police need a warrant to access long-term cell phone location data. The Court recognized that tracking someone's movements over time reveals deeply personal details - where they worship, who they visit, what doctors they see. Legal scholars argue that ALPR networks raise the same concern: they record where every car goes, every day, without a warrant.
This section is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It summarizes what courts and legal scholars are currently debating. If you have questions about your legal rights, consult a licensed attorney.
State Comparison
How Other States Compare
At least six states have passed laws restricting how license plate data is collected, stored, and shared. South Carolina has none.
Legislation
SC Bill Tracker
Last updated: March 2026
Bill status is checked automatically each week during the legislative session.
Analysis
What's Missing from the Pending Bills
H4675 closes some of these gaps. The other three bills don't.
Gap 01
No restrictions on federal agency access
Three of the four pending SC bills (S447, H3155, H4013) regulate state and local law enforcement but say nothing about federal agencies. H4675 is the exception: it explicitly prohibits immigration enforcement use of ALPR data and bans third-party cloud storage, which would structurally prevent federal agencies from accessing the data through Flock's network. In 2025, Flock Safety quietly gave U.S. Border Patrol an account to access local police cameras in Colorado without telling any of those agencies. SC has no law that would prevent the same arrangement here, unless H4675 passes.
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