http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-...,7579114.story

Consumer agreement targets license-plate blocking
1:32 PM EDT, June 13, 2008


Products promising to block your license plate from being captured on police cameras to avoid traffic tickets may not be as effective as promised and they're illegal to use in Pennsylvania, according to the state.

One company that sells them, Innovative Media Inc. of Harrisburg, can no longer sell them to people in Pennsylvania under a consumer protection settlement agreement with the office of state Attorney General Tom Corbett.

Attorney general spokesman Nils Frederiksen said the company also must disclose information on its Web sites that it's illegal to obscure license plates in Pennsylvania and pay a $5,000 civil penalty and $20,000 toward public education programs.

The company sold the products on various Web sites, including: www.PhantomPlate.com, www.PhotoBlocker.com, and www.InvisiblePlate.com. The products include PhotoBlocker Spray, PhotoShield Cover and Reflector Cover.



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ID thefts put shredder sales on a tear (4/18/2004) Frederiksen said that although the use -- not the sale -- of these products is a violation of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code, selling them leaves consumers open to prosecution. He said it also encourages them to defeat traffic safety devices, which puts other motorists and pedestrians at risk.

Philadelphia is the only place in the state where red light violations are enforced with traffic cameras. Frederiksen said Innovative Media sold several hundred products to customers in Pennsylvania.

According to a news release issued by Corbett's office today:

The settlement agreement says Innovative Media engaged in a series of misleading or deceptive practices in the advertisement and sale of various photo-blocking products, The Web sites make questionable claims about the effectiveness of the products and provides inaccurate information about patents. It also previously included information about the admissibility of traffic camera photographs in court, which amounted to unauthorized practice of law.

The Web site www.PhantomPlate.com promises to "make your car invisible to traffic cameras" and "no more red light camera tickets," without explaining that the use of these products violates state law.

-- Reporting by Tracy Jordan, The Morning Call