Justice Dept spying on millions of US drivers – report

The US Justice Department has been covertly gathering and storing hundreds of millions of records about American motorists for a national database, The Wall Street Journal reported. The database can track the movements of vehicles across the country.
Government documents, as well as former and current government officials, confirmed to the Journal that the license plate-tracking program was initially used by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to seize cars, money, and other assets associated with drug trafficking. Use of the database has grown, however, to include hunting for vehicles linked to other possible crimes, including kidnapping, killings, and rape.
Additionally, state and local law enforcement agencies are increasingly using it for a variety of investigations. US officials have said in the past that the DEA used the license plate readers to track vehicles near the Mexican border in an effort to combat drug cartels, but said nothing previously about the DEA expanding the program “throughout the United States.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department told the Journal that the program complies with federal law, suggesting there isn’t anything newsworthy about the revelation. “It is not new that the DEA uses the license-plat readers program to arrest criminals and stop the flow of drugs in areas of high trafficking intensity,” the spokesman said.
However, it isn’t clear if any court oversees the program or has approved the program’s operation.

Source: RT