> Government is accountable

that is funny right there....

>With private services, you're more or less out of luck,

In a way, but last I checked google nor facebook are legally empowered to Arrest, Put me in a Cage, Raid my Home at 3am, Shoot my dog, Detonate Explosives in my children face or even Kill Me.

So yes google violates your privacy, to sell you shit, the government violates your privacy to put you in a cage or kill you. I am more concerned with the latter...

Is that what the vans are doing though? Are they out there to hunt innocent people so they can kill them? Or are they trying to catch people they are looking for already, except more efficiently?

In other words are they doing what we have in essence ask them to do for us, by and large?

Depends on your Definition of "innocent" and crime

Since I do not get my ethics or morality from the government or law I do not view simply breaking one of the millions of laws as criminal, a crime to me has to have a complaining victim, no victim no crime.

Thus the state enforcing the thousands of victim-less crimes, or even crimes "against the state" are immoral, and unethical.

Further I find the governments use of ALPR data to build massive on going databases that are used for government and private uses to be offensive.

It is sad you do not

It doesn't matter why they're collecting the information. Once they have it, they have to power to do far worse things with it than Google.

No, I'd say _why_ is the central question. If it's a corrupt city supervisor spying on foes, that's contrary to their purview, if it's to enforce laws, that is under their duties.

It's like saying, well, we don't care why facebook collects all that information, they may as well sell it all to any bidder.

I think you might be missing my point. Even if they have the best of intentions for collecting the data, once they have it, anyone who has access to it can use it for evil.

I see you have a much greater trust and respect for government than I

I am a libertarian, I view 99% of government as immoral and unethical

I think myself as being skeptical of government, however, I don't think the default for me is "they're bad" rather "let's see what tho is about". It could be for good, it could be bad. Let's look at it. If bad, we can, if we have the will, change it, in many cases.