Richard Siegelman said people sometimes report their cars stolen, then learn after speaking with mall staff that the vehicles were repossessed because payments were overdue.

The disclosure raises questions about how private property owners collect, retain and share data captured by automated license plate readers. The cameras record plate information, which can be used to track where vehicles have been seen.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said the technology can serve as a safety tool but is not error-proof. He said he had been wrongly targeted by private parking operators using license plate readers.

Adam Schwartz, a privacy expert with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said organizations’ data practices vary, with some keeping information for days and others for years. He warned that the information could be used for commercial purposes or surveillance.

Tennessee law bars government entities from keeping license plate reader data for more than 90 days unless it is connected to an ongoing investigation. The restriction does not apply to private operators such as shopping malls.

Simon Property Group, which owns Opry Mills, was asked whether the mall sells the information to other entities. Metro Nashville police were also asked whether the department can access the mall’s data. No responses were reported as of Oct. 24. Siegelman was also contacted for comment about the surveillance and data sharing.