Photo: Fighting Flock From a Lawn Chair
"I'm not a lawbreaker," the Florida man known as the "flock blocker" told local media.
Flock
Despite a Notable Victory in Oklahoma, Legal Challenges to Flock Cameras Still Face Long Odds
State and federal courts have almost uniformly ruled that searches of ALPR databases do not implicate the Fourth Amendment.
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.
A Visit to a Gun Store Shouldn't Put You on a Government List
Gun registry bans might not be enough to protect gun owners from lists built from license-plate data.
Cops Used AI Surveillance To Detain an Innocent Texas Driver. His Lawsuit Just Got the Program Struck Down.
AI-powered license plate readers flagged an abnormal driving pattern. Then officers made up reasons to pull him over and interrogated him, and they faked a K-9 alert to justify a nonconsensual search.
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.
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.
Banning Flock Won't Be Enough Without Police Reform
It was Flock that led cops to the wrong woman. It was police who ignored the other evidence and jailed her.
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.
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.
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.
Surveillance Camera Saboteurs Are Getting Government Officials' Attention
Sometimes direct action is the only way to get politicians to consider civil liberties.
America Is Building a Surveillance State Like China's
"If there are Flock cameras in your city, they are tracking, logging and sharing your movements without a warrant," warns the ACLU.
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.
Woke 1.0, House of the Dragon, and the Absurd Politics of Surveillance
Robby Soave and Christian Britschgi break down the absurd political fights about America’s surveillance state before jumping into House of the Dragon.
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.
How Flock Camera Defenders Are Missing the Point
Robby Soave and Amber Duke attack The Free Press' latest attempt to defend Flock cameras.
Roanoke Removes Gunshot Detectors Months After Approving Them
Limited evidence of effectiveness combined with privacy concerns raises questions about the sensors.
Georgia Has Arrested At Least 20 Officials for Misusing the Flock Surveillance Database
Michael Soyfer, an attorney at the Institute for Justice, calls it “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Kansas Lawsuit: ALPRs Turn a License Plate Into the 'Functional Equivalent' of a 'GPS Tracking Device'
The Kansas Justice Institute argues that Wichita's "warrantless ALPR dragnet surveillance program" violates the state constitution's privacy protections.
Georgia Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Misusing Flock Surveillance Data
Although Flock Safety’s auditing tools have helped catch the bad actors, more is needed to protect Americans’ privacy.
Ring Drops Controversial Partner After Super Bowl Ad Backlash
The move is a rare win for privacy, both for users and their neighbors.
Warrantless Use of License Plate Reader Cameras Is Unconstitutional
A new campaign pushes back against the widespread use of automatic license plate readers without warrants.
Automated License Plate Readers Are Watching You
The technology enables routine surveillance that would have troubled the Fourth Amendment’s framers.
An Arkansas Town Agrees To Remove a License Plate Camera Aimed at a Couple's Home
Local officials initially were unfazed by complaints that the constant surveillance raised serious privacy concerns.
Illinois Cops Gave ICE Access to More Than 5,000 Surveillance Cameras Nationwide
A camera network developed to help find missing cars and persons is now being used for immigration enforcement.
