On November 3, 2026, Gibbs Mura, along with co-counsel, filed a class action complaint against Axon Enterprise, Inc., alleging that the company unlawfully collects, stores, and shares California drivers’ data through its AI-powered automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. According to the lawsuit, Axon operates over 1,000 ALPR cameras in California and has tracked millions of drivers. The case has been covered in the news by Reuters and The Verge.
Have you driven in California? Axon’s license plate cameras may have captured your vehicle and location data. Contact Gibbs Mura to learn whether you may be affected.
What is Axon and Where are its License Plate Reader (ALPR) Cameras?
Axon Enterprise, Inc. is an Arizona-based company best known for TASER weapons and body cameras. The company has expanded into an integrated ecosystem of policing technology, including drones, in-cruiser computers, and automated license plate reader (“ALPR”) cameras.
Axon operates both police-car-mounted ALPR cameras and fixed cameras mounted on poles and streetlights. It pairs this network with artificial intelligence (“AI”) and advanced communications networks, and integrates the ALPR data with data from its other products, including body cameras and drones.
Axon ALPR cameras have been identified in the following California locations:
Fixed cameras: Beverly Hills, Burbank, Palm Desert, Daly City, UCLA, and California State University, Long Beach
Police-car cameras: Antioch, Alameda, Hayward, Los Angeles, Fremont, and Sacramento
These cameras are often unnoticed by passing drivers. If you have driven in these areas, your vehicle data may have been captured.
How Axon’s License Plate Readers Track California Drivers
Axon’s ALPR cameras are allegedly designed to capture millions of California drivers’ daily movements. Rather than focusing on potential traffic violations, Axon’s ALPR cameras scan every passing vehicle and capture its plate number, location, time, and characteristics. Axon’s software combines that data with other sources so law enforcement customers can search it without a warrant and share it across jurisdictions.
The complaint alleges that Axon’s network of cameras lets Axon and its customers infer detailed personal information about California drivers, including:
Where they live and work
Where they worship
Where they get medical care
Their daily routine, including when they leave home and where they go
Who they spend time with
Their political activity
According to Plaintiffs, Axon’s mass surveillance information poses a serious threat to civil liberties and privacy rights.
Gibbs Mura Files Axon Class Action Lawsuit Over License Plate Readers
The class action complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Axon violates California’s ALPR Privacy Act, which governs how companies may collect, use, store, and share ALPR data. Among other things, the Act requires ALPR operators to post a usage and privacy policy telling the public how the data is used and shared, and it gives individuals the right to know who is collecting their data and how it is handled.
According to the complaint, Axon has not published the required policy. As a result, California drivers cannot learn who can view their vehicle and location data, how long it is kept, and whether it is shared.
The complaint further alleges that Axon combines and retains ALPR data from multiple sources in its Axon Evidence and Fusus software, where customers can search it without a warrant, which plaintiffs allege violates Californians’ constitutional privacy rights and intrudes upon their seclusion. They claim Axon is legally required to design its systems and policies to comply with the Act, but has chosen not to.
The lawsuit calls for Axon to stop its allegedly unlawful practices and seeks compensation for affected drivers.
Our Privacy Lawyers’ Experience with Taking on Companies like Axon
On April 3, 2026, Gibbs Mura filed an amended class action lawsuit complaint against Flock Safety for using its ALPR cameras to track and illegally share data about the movement of millions of Californians. A federal judge consolidated the case with two other similar lawsuits against Flock Safety, and the case is now being litigated by a set of court-appointed lead counsel in the Northern District of California.
Additionally, on July 16, 2026, Gibbs Mura filed an amended class action complaint against Motorola and its subsidiary, Vigilant. The complaint alleges that the companies facilitated unlawful sharing of California drivers’ ALPR data with out-of-state and federal agencies, maintained an inadequate privacy policy, and profited from drivers’ sensitive data.
Gibbs Mura has also prosecuted some of the largest and most influential privacy and data breach cases in the country. In 2025, Gibbs Mura secured a $27.5 million settlement against Thomson Reuters alleging its CLEAR platform violated millions of Californians’ privacy. Gibbs Mura also helped achieve the largest data breach settlement in history in the Equifax Data Breach Lawsuit, securing $1.5 billion from Equifax after its 2017 data breach exposed the data of over 145 million Americans.
Is there a class action lawsuit against Axon over its license plate readers?
Is there a class action lawsuit against Axon over its license plate readers?
Yes. On November 3, 2026, Gibbs Mura and co-counsel filed a proposed class action against Axon Enterprise, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges that Axon collects and stores Californians’ license plate data without the usage and privacy policy that California’s ALPR Privacy Act requires, and that its round-the-clock tracking of drivers violates their privacy rights. The proposed class includes people whose license plate data was collected in California and processed or stored by Axon’s ALPR system since November 3, 2023.
What are automated license plate readers (ALPR)?
What are automated license plate readers (ALPR)?
Automated license plate readers (ALPR) are computer-controlled camera systems that automatically capture, analyze, and store vehicle information. ALPR cameras use optical character recognition technology to convert images of license plates into text files. ALPR-captured images, text files, and other metadata like location, date, and time, are maintained in a database — sometimes for years — without drivers’ knowledge or consent.
How are ALPR cameras different from traffic cameras?
How are ALPR cameras different from traffic cameras?
Traffic cameras capture images of a traffic law violation, such as running a red light or speeding. These cameras are often triggered only when an infraction occurs and are not designed to track and surveil drivers. On the contrary, ALPR systems are designed to capture license plate and vehicle information for every single car that passes by them, 24/7. These systems track drivers without their knowledge, and create a constant record of their movements, even when no traffic violation is suspected.
Is my vehicle being tracked by ALPR cameras?
Is my vehicle being tracked by ALPR cameras?
If you have driven in California, your vehicle may have been tracked by Axon’s ALPR cameras. These cameras often go unnoticed by passing drivers, and may be tracking your vehicle without consent or knowledge. If you think you may have been impacted, contact our legal team for a free and confidential consultation.
Where are Axon’s ALPR systems located?
Where are Axon’s ALPR systems located?
Axon’s ALPR systems are located in California and nationwide. These cameras are mounted in fixed locations, such as near high-volume roadways, in neighborhoods, and near business and commercial areas, and on moving vehicles, like police cars.
Did your firm also file a lawsuit related to Flock Safety’s ALPR systems?
Did your firm also file a lawsuit related to Flock Safety’s ALPR systems?
Yes. Gibbs Mura filed an amended class action complaint against Flock Safety on April 3, 2026, for allegedly using its automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to track millions of Californians’ daily movements and to illegally share this information with out-of-state law enforcement agencies, violating California privacy laws. Although we are no longer accepting new clients for this case, you can read more about the Flock Safety lawsuit here. Gibbs Mura is also litigating a separate class action against Motorola Solutions and its subsidiary Vigilant. Read more about the Motorola license plate reader lawsuit.
Our License Plate Reader Data Privacy Lawsuit Team
