“There is no expectation of privacy for a license plate. It’s there, publicly visible, to be viewed by accident victims and the police. Nothing private about it. Same thing with hair, faces, clothes and posture.”
That certainly is the arguing position of people who want to be able to ‘pull up’ a complete history of anyone’s movements over time (maybe criminals, but maybe ex lovers, stalkee’s, employees, contractors working for cash, political opponents, and God knows who else).
In the past they’d have to hire Private Investigators to get that information, so it was very expensive and rarely done. Now government can simply run cameras and use other electronic means and automatically have their history. Excellent for IRS, also works great in China, where one is lucky to be able to leave their apartment building to buy a loaf of bread a few doors over without it recorded.
Maybe it is need here, since we do have a lot of crime, but do we really want to hand government those tools - particularly after what the FBI has now been shown to be doing with far less capabilities?
If you live out in the boonies, it’s possible to stay under the radar and enjoy privacy to your heart’s content. In the big city, in an apartment complex, you can’t even argue with your spouse without the next door neighbors learning more than you want them to.