The safety and security of any Canadian's home is always a matter of importance. But, what if a private hi-tech security device was keeping track of your vehicle's every movement—in your home neighbourhood?

That is an increasing problem in a growing number of communities in particular US gated communities and HOA neighbourhoods. HOA, of course, stands for Home Owner Association, a kind of condo-board-like ruling group, usually for free-standing homes. Traditionally they would regulate outside decor like paint colours, and routine things like garbage pick-up.

While Canada has never had the number of gated communities that populate the south and western parts of the US (and other areas, more and more), Canadian cities are increasingly facing calls for greater security and a form of autonomy in certain community districts. New subdivisions are more frequently seeking that self-regulating authority to make a gated community and other neighbourhood regulations.

The recent issue that has arisen in several US cities is this: the unregulated use of a new security tool—license plate scanners.

Now, these things have been around for years for public security and law enforcement agencies. If you have ever driven between Canada and the United States, somewhere there is a lovely picture of your car, its license plate, and probably the driver.

(I remember several years ago I was driving to Florida from Ontario. Some time later I was dealing with US Customs and Border Security on another matter (relax, it was all legit) and the agent asked me when I had last crossed the border. I said, 'Oh, about the second week of October', to which she punched a few buttons and said to me, "How about 9:07am on October 8 at Port Huron, Michigan?")

Gulp.

Anyway. The new controversy has been sparked by the development of small, inexpensive license plate cameras intended for neighbourhood use as a security device. The system allows the 'shots' to be kept on a computer for inspection by police or other authorities in case of alleged criminal activity.

The problem is that the management or board of that HOA can also see the data. In other words, a neighbour of yours could be tracking when your car left, when it returned, and so on.

This system operates 24-hours a day. It remembers everything. And with a price tag that apparently starts at US$2,500/camera, this is not a millionaires-only security device. It is reaching into the heart of Middle America, and that's the growing concern.

Do you really want a time-code stamped picture of your every departure and arrival in your neighbourhood? That information could soon reveal patterns of a particular driver's regular routine—and identify non-regular events. One also presumes that hackers could figure out how to penetrate such information.

This is all causing the battle between people arguing this is a legitimate tool to identify 'outsiders who might break the law' and the privacy concerns of residents.

Traditionally, much of what has started in the US eventually seeps over the border into the Canadian diaspora. It is unlikely this emerging security vs. privacy issue will be any different.

Canadian municipalities are not prepared for this kind of intense discussion. They are going to have to be.

Between new technologies, Artificial Intelligence, the lower costs of these kinds of security protocols and other new and emerging security devices, there is going to be a new generation of 'private security vs. public privacy' debates. City Councils are going to get dragged into this situation. It will be neither a fun nor an easy discussion.