Campus Surveillance

At least 10 US universities drop Flock license-plate camera contracts since April

Student-led campaigns at Stanford and other campuses pushed universities to end contracts with Flock Safety, maker of automated license plate reader cameras. Since April, at least ten schools in seven states—including Cornell, Penn State, Emory, Binghamton, Kent State and three University of Wisconsin campuses—have cancelled their Flock agreements, while the University of Buffalo paused a planned pilot. Some schools, including Appalachian State and two UNC campuses, kept their contracts but limited outside agencies' access to camera data after reports showed out-of-state police departments querying the systems extensively.

theguardian.com · 2026-11-13

Emory drops Flock Safety cameras amid student pushback

Emory University has removed Flock Safety's automated license-plate-reading cameras from campus, with a spokesperson saying the move keeps safety infrastructure under the institution's own control. The decision follows a broader student-led 'de-flock' movement questioning the use of Flock's surveillance technology at colleges.

yro.slashdot.org · 2026-11-01

MIT installs hundreds of surveillance cameras, tests Ambient.ai facial-search tools

MIT has installed hundreds of small camera units across campus over the summer, including more than 500 documented by The Tech, with some positioned near faculty offices and bathroom entrances. At the May 2026 Institute Faculty Meeting, administrators acknowledged testing AI-based search capabilities from Ambient.ai on campus footage without prior notice or consent from the community.

fnl.mit.edu · 2026-09-25