> the abuse is tangential to the fact that "the system working as intended" is designed to comprehensively and cheaply subjugate us all to the whims of whoever or whatever has the ear of government at any particular minute.

I'm reminded of a "hah hah, only serious" joke/slang popularized by EverQuest players: Broken as intended.

https://wiki.c2.com/?HaHaOnlySerious

> if cops couldn't stalk their girlfriend

This used to be called "running a date" by law enforcement when checking up on some pretty face. That abuse is part of what led to the Driver's Privacy Protection Act. When I worked for my state's motor vehicle agency, there were training videos about what was and wasn't allowed. It won't happen under this administration, but ALPR systems should be legislated as covered by DPPA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_Privacy_Protection_...