Latest Television

What's the deal with blocking out license plate numbers on TV and the internet?

Whenever you see people's cars on TV (not like fictional people, but news or reality tv) or posted on the internet for whatever reason, they always have their license plates censored. I get that it's so people don't see the plate number, but what's the point? People see it when they drive down the street anyway. In fact, it's illegal to cover your license plate while you're driving. I mean, if I wanted to get up to some shenanigans with license plate numbers, I would just go get some off the street. This isn't really an important question, I'm just wondering.

Public Comments

1. it is an temp to hide peoples identity stamped on those plates
2. It's only for the protection of the people who own the cars.
3. It's due to the privacy laws.
4. Good question. But it's to protect the privacy of the owner's of the car. It's a legal issue. They can't show personal info including a license plate number on a TV show. If something bad was to happen and they tracked them down through their license plate number that was exposed on that TV show, the show and TV network could face a lawsuit.
5. To protect the owners.
6. It is a liability issue for the producers of the shows. Same reason you never hear the last name of anyone on "Cash Cab".