Other Courts Should Heed a Federal Judge's Warning About Flock-Enabled Mass Surveillance
Car-tracking cameras, like cellphones, generate vast amounts of sensitive data.
Privacy
An Illinois College Tried To Cancel Its Flock Contract. Flock Refused.
Elgin Community College even tied garbage bags over the cameras, but Flock technicians just cut them down.
Photo: Fighting Flock From a Lawn Chair
"I'm not a lawbreaker," the Florida man known as the "flock blocker" told local media.
Kafka's The Trial "Was Not Supposed to Be an Instruction Manual"
In a Fifth Circuit case (which the court just declined to rehear en banc), a woman had faced potential prosecution for publishing a photo of a transgender politician washing hands in a women's restroom.
Treasury Backs Down on Biden-Era Cryptocurrency Surveillance Proposal
It’s a small victory for financial privacy against escalating surveillance.
Judge Says Warrantless Flock Search Violated Driver's Fourth Amendment Rights
The automated license plate reader system is “a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance," says a federal judge.
Federal Court Slaps Down Utah's VPN Restrictions
A judge blocked a rule that would have required adult sites to block VPNs or age-check the world.
The SEC Is Watching American Investors' Trades. That's a Privacy Nightmare.
The SEC should not keep a searchable record of Americans’ lawful trades, much less make them pay for it.
Border Agents Nabbed Their Phones. These Two Floridians Are Fighting Back.
A former assistant state attorney and an immigrant rights activist both had their phones seized, despite having attorney-client privilege. They're suing to protect their data.
Your Right to Privacy Doesn't Disappear When You're in Public
Defenders of Flock-style surveillance systems argue that people “have no reasonable expectation of privacy in public.” They're wrong.
Journalist's Publishing Information About Sealed Arrest Protected by First Amendment
Tech CEO who sued over the publication had to pay about $400K in defendants' attorney fees as a result of the trial court's throwing out the lawsuit, and the Court of Appeal just affirmed the decision.
NFL Player's Penis Size Is a 'Matter of Legitimate Public Concern,' Says Court
That means his ex-wife can talk about it on a podcast if she wants to. But you probably shouldn’t follow suit.
Seattle's 'Surveillance Pricing' Ban Is a Solution Searching for a Problem
The city's ordinance targets price gouging that its own evidence doesn't show—and it could kill discounts that save shoppers money.
Border Agents Search Phones Without Warrants. This Case Asks the Supreme Court if That's Constitutional
Federal appeals courts differ on whether the Fourth Amendment protects your cellphone at the border. A Texas lawyer is asking the Supreme Court to settle it.
As Police Misuse Flock Cameras, 2 Senators From Opposite Parties Demand More Oversight
Sens. Raphael Warnock and Katie Britt would seem to have little in common, but they both feel people should have more protection from bad cops with surveillance tech.
Scan Your Face To Enter Your Dorm? University of Kentucky Installs Facial Recognition Tech Around Campus
The rationale for AI facial scanning—to prevent bad actors from following students into buildings—makes little sense.
Privacy Lawsuit Over Prof's Book That Mentions Former TA's Childhood Sexual Abuse Can Go Forward
An "endarkened feminist approach to revolutionizing teacher consciousness" is alleged to be unprivacied as well.
Homeland Security Is Monitoring Activists Building Anti-Flock Tech
SparrowMap uses volunteer cameras to track the police in the same way police track the public. The government considers it a potential threat.
Flock's Gunfire Alerts Raise a New Fourth Amendment Question
Gun owners should be paying attention to how police use gunfire microphones in conjunction with license plate cameras.
No Warrant, No Suspicion, No Problem: Flock and Border Cellphone Searches Excluded From 4th Amendment Rules
Cops keep carving out tech exceptions to the Fourth Amendment—and courts are giving them their blessing.
The Shaky Evidence That Flock Cameras Reduce Crime Rates
Flock has been promoting a recent study of its cameras' impacts on car theft. But the paper didn't demonstrate a causal effect.
Court Upholds Suspicionless Cellphone Searches at the Border
A federal appeals court says it's legal for federal agents to scroll through your phone and take pictures of its contents without a warrant or suspicion of criminal activity.
Influencer Haley Kalil's Remarks About Ex-Husband Matt Kalil's Penis Size Were "Newsworthy," and Thus Not Tortious
Because her comments came in describing her marriage and her divorce, she "was discussing her life, not Matt's, and the law generally protects a person's speech about herself, even though such speech inevitably reveals details about others."
Strip Searches Generally Aren't Allowed as Searches Incident to Arrest, Third Circuit Holds,
thus deepening a circuit split. (Note that strip searches are generally allowed when and if the arrestee is placed in the general population of the jail.)
Trump Backs Flock Cameras, Continuing His Long-Time Support for Unchecked Police Power
Trump says he supports the cameras simply because law enforcement does, no matter that they can be misused or abused.
European Cars Are Spying on Their Drivers. The Same Tech Could Be Coming to the U.S.
New cars in the E.U. must now have cameras that track drivers' eyes and flag distractions.
Why Conservative Republicans Are Worried About License Plate Cameras
Recent comments by Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis reflect a bipartisan backlash against warrantless surveillance.
A New Bill Reflects the Bipartisan Backlash Against Flock-Enabled Mass Surveillance
Criticism from Trump allies and recent survey results show that resistance to widespread deployment of automated license plate readers spans the political spectrum.
Wisconsin Cops Used Flock Over 100 Times To Track a Navy Veteran After He Lawfully Recorded a Traffic Stop
A federal lawsuit claims the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office used the Flock cameras without a legitimate government purpose and in retaliation against the vet for exercising his First Amendment right.
The Belated Backlash Against Flock Cameras
Americans are starting to recognize the dangers of pervasive surveillance by automated license plate readers.
A Tale of Two Tech Revolts
What the simultaneous revolts against Flock and data centers can tell us about the power and risks of populism
Getting Rid of Flock Isn't Enough To Solve America's Surveillance Problem
Civil liberties advocates warn that Americans’ privacy and surveillance concerns won’t be solved without strong legal protections.
Ron DeSantis Says Flock Cameras Are 'Out of Control,' But Florida's Already Flooded With Surveillance
Florida police departments have been adding drones, facial recognition technology, and license plate readers to their arsenals for years.
This YouTuber Got Kicked Out of the Flock Convention. So He Ran His Own Surveillance.
Benn Jordan wants the snoopers to be “a little unsettled.”
Post-9/11 Fear Grew the Surveillance State. 25 Years Later, It's Still Growing.
The U.S. government responded in ways that are so integrated into daily life that we no longer recognize them.
Border Cops Detained Me for Hours Without Explanation. They Won't Tell Me Why.
CBP claims dictatorial powers over Americans coming home. A big part of that is hiding information.
Border Agents Searched His Phone 5 Times Without a Warrant. He's Asking the Supreme Court To Put a Stop to It.
How many warrantless cellphone searches does it take to change border policy?
Flock Safety's New Privacy Rules Do Little To Ease Concerns Over ALPR Surveillance
The company’s attempts to protect Americans’ privacy “will do nothing to protect innocent people from warrantless mass surveillance,” says an Institute for Justice attorney.
She Spent 7 Months in Legal Hell After Cops Used Flock Surveillance To Identify the Wrong Car
From wrongful arrests to officers stalking exes, license plate cameras keep exposing police failures.
Government Regulations Are Keeping Drone Delivery Grounded
To fly a drone out of sight, you must get airline-level certification, which requires a lengthy approval process from the Federal Aviation Administration.
A Major 'Online Safety' Bill Cleared a Senate Committee. More Crackdowns on Internet Freedom Could Be Coming.
The Senate Commerce committee advanced four bills related to online and AI safety in the name of protecting children.
Reality Show Participant's #Scandoval Sex Videos Aren't of "Public Interest" for California Anti-SLAPP Law Purposes
Dissent: "We judges can write all we want, but this public voted with its eyeballs."
Roanoke Removes Gunshot Detectors Months After Approving Them
Limited evidence of effectiveness combined with privacy concerns raises questions about the sensors.
No Liability for Parents Over Their Son's Surreptitiously Recording Sex Acts in Their Home
"Suing individuals because they have a homeowner's insurance policy or are collectible defendants is not a proper purpose for a lawsuit."
A New Jersey News Outlet Asks the Courts To Stop a Judge's Censorship
The judge concluded that a high school student's privacy interests trumped freedom of the press.
