[triceratops]

> any photo you take of a license plate on your smartphone would fit that description

I don't normally do that, unless I'm involved in an accident.

> So you’d need to further distinguish to preserve that freedom.

And you think it's very hard to do that, legally speaking?

[ianstormtaylor]

No I don’t think it’s “very hard”. But I also don’t pretend like OP that it’s super simple, only to suggest a law that would make most people criminals.

I think regulation is critically needed in this area, but acting like it’s easy to do well is a recipe for laws like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that have massive unexpected consequences.