The interior minister suspended the use of the automatic number plate recognition cameras in mid-May after it was reported by the media. The system, which includes a network of over 200 devices, has been in use for over a decade, but several ministers denied they knew anything about it.

PPA Director General Egert Belitšev said the agency had been operating the cameras following the Police and Border Guard Act, the Law Enforcement Act and the currently valid police data register statute.

However, no law currently authorizes such use of cameras or the associated database.

The Ministry of the Interior completed and submitted the draft legislation on Monday for discussion to the Riigikogu's Legal Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Chairman Madis Timpson (Reform) said several shortcomings were revealed that made it impossible to initiate the bill in its current form.

"We were ready to process it if it did not require many changes. But the Data Protection Inspectorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Chancellor of Justice all raised concerns," said Timpson.

"The end result was that our committee will not initiate this bill. It will go through the government and the Ministry of the Interior, sometime in the fall," Timpson noted.

"We actually would have liked to move it forward, but when no one at the table could say it would pass without comments, a pragmatic decision had to be made," he added.

Timpson estimated the process will take at least six months. The PPA cannot use the cameras until then.

What do the cameras do? Why are they needed?

Last month, Egert Belitšev said the most significant benefit of license plate recognition for police is its role in solving serious crimes in real time.

The agency uses public cameras equipped with license plate recognition technology, which are primarily located on highways and at major traffic junctions.

The cameras detect a vehicle's license plate and capture a photo of it. This image is stored in the police database in a de-identified form. Every query made to the database is logged and the logs are retained even after the images themselves are deleted.

"I understand people's concerns about privacy and the police's responsibility to safeguard that data. At the same time, license plate recognition is sometimes the only lead to clarify a case that has seriously shaken public sense of security — or to send a clear message, for instance, to Lithuanian car thieves that Estonia is not worth the risk. Here, we must find a balance: people should have confidence that their rights are not being excessively infringed, while the police must retain the ability to uncover even the most carefully concealed crimes," he said.

An internal review of the technology by the PPA found the cameras were used as intended, with oversight mechanisms in place and timely deletion ensured.

However, there were also areas for improvement. What still needs improvement are clearer justifications for queries, risk assessments for camera installation and signage.

What was included in the draft law?

The proposal, signed by Minister of the Interior Igor Taro (Eesti 200) on Monday afternoon, would have added a new section to the Police and Border Guard Act granting police the legal right to use license plate recognition cameras.

Officers would have been allowed to use the cameras for detecting, preventing, and investigating crimes; identifying, countering, or stopping elevated or significant threats or public disturbances; and locating wanted individuals and objects.

Cameras could have captured photographs of the vehicle, its trailer, license plate, and individuals inside or near the vehicle. The time and location of each photo would also be recorded.

Database access would have remained exactly the same as before, without excessively limiting or redefining how officials can use it. As has been the practice, each query would require justification, and logs would be retained for two years.

Unlike before, the images captured by the license plate recognition cameras would be stored for up to 45 days instead of two months. In practice, however, images were not retained for two full months anyway, as the system captures around 20 million images per month and storing them all would be too costly.

Data could be retained for longer if the police need it for an investigation.

The draft bill contains no additional procedural regulations or restrictions. For example, it would not obligate police to publicly disclose the locations of the cameras via a publicly accessible map.

Nor does the bill specify how to handle individuals or vehicles placed under active surveillance by the police, such as whether a court order should be obtained.

The draft also does not address whether or how individuals whose license plates have been queried should be notified afterward.

Chair of the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee and Reform Party member Madis Timpson (Reform) told "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Monday that the police's use of the camera system has involved a fairly significant infringement on privacy.

The situation should now be resolved in a way that increases privacy while enabling the police to provide better security.

"Personally, I'm not against the cameras, but I want this to be very clearly regulated, how much they photograph, how the images are stored, and how long they are kept. I'd like to know that. We're taking millions of photos—what happens to them? That part is a bit unclear to me," he said.

In mid-May, Minister of the Interior Igor Taro (Eesti 200) suspended the use of the PPA's cameras pending necessary legislative changes. It took into account concerns raised by a representative of the chancellor of justice and the Data Protection Inspectorate regarding the need for more precise legal regulations.

An internal review by the Police and Border Guard Board of the use of license plate recognition cameras found that the agency has used the data as intended, with oversight mechanisms in place and timely deletion ensured. What still needs improvement are clearer justifications for queries, risk assessments for camera installation, and signage.

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