GoKawiil
Tech News
President Trump has publicly backed automated license plate reader systems made by Flock Safety, aligning himself with the surveillance technology as the midterm elections near. His support also extends to data center expansion and policies aimed at accelerating AI development without regulatory slowdown.
President Trump told reporters he supports Flock Safety, the company operating a nationwide network of over 120,000 AI-powered license plate cameras used by law enforcement. He acknowledged critics view the technology as an infringement on privacy but said he personally favors it for helping police.
Local governments nationwide, from Florida to Washington state, are terminating contracts with Flock Safety amid public backlash over its AI-powered license plate readers. However, ending these agreements doesn't guarantee immediate camera removal or deletion of previously collected data, since contract terms vary widely on data retention after termination.
An InvestigateTV reporter, Brendan Keefe, filmed a Flock Safety technician installing surveillance cameras on a public road while wearing press identification and a safety vest. The technician packed up and left, then called 911 claiming to be harassed and followed, prompting three police cars to stop Keefe's vehicle for about 17 minutes before releasing him without charges. InvestigateTV notes this was not the first time a Flock employee has called police over being filmed while installing cameras this summer.
Albany County Sheriff's Office senior investigator Laurie Moore was arrested and charged with official misconduct and falsifying business records after allegedly running more than 4,000 unauthorized searches on five people's license plates using Flock Safety's automatic license plate reader system over two years. One target, her ex-girlfriend, was reportedly searched roughly 3,000 times, while four other plates were queried hundreds of times each. A second, unnamed employee has been placed on leave pending an internal investigation.
A new Grand Theft Auto 5 mod called Grand Theft Automated License Plate Reader, created by Morry Kolman, adds 235 fictional Flock-style cameras to Los Santos that track players' movements and report crimes to in-game police. Players can destroy the cameras using weapons like rocket launchers, earning $600 per camera based on the estimated cost of a real Flock camera's components, and can even race against a timer to beat their best destruction time.
A costumed appearance by a Doctor Doom impersonator at a Seattle event highlighted support for the city's camera surveillance systems. The moment drew attention to the fact that Flock Safety is far from the only company supplying automated license-plate readers and camera networks to police departments and neighborhoods.
Artist Morry Kolman released a Grand Theft Auto V mod called Grand Theft Automated License Plate Reader, which scatters 235 replica Flock Safety cameras across Los Santos and rewards players $600 for each one they destroy. The mod also mimics real-world surveillance behavior, extending police chase cooldowns near cameras and occasionally triggering false police responses to mirror reported ALPR errors.
An investigation into Flock Safety examines how the company's automated license-plate readers have spread across thousands of U.S. communities, creating a dense network of surveillance that local police departments increasingly rely on. The piece traces how privacy law's ambiguous constitutional footing—rooted in Fourth Amendment protections rather than an explicit right—has left room for technologies like Flock's cameras to expand largely unchecked. It situates this growth within a longer post-9/11 trend of trading privacy for promised safety and convenience.
Grass Valley Police Department ended its contract with Flock Safety and removed the company's license plate cameras, but Flock reinstalled at least two of them without authorization weeks later. Flock says its automated maintenance system misread the city's early camera removal as an equipment failure, triggering repair crews to dispatch and replace units. GVPD says it continues to monitor for and remove any cameras Flock puts back up.
Colby Williams, 25, was arrested in Georgia on multiple felony charges including arson and criminal damage to property after police say he set fire to three Flock automated license plate readers, melting at least one down to slag. A nearby fourth camera was found riddled with bullet holes, and one melted pole bore a 'DeFlock' sticker. Investigators identified Williams partly through footage from the very cameras he allegedly destroyed.
404 Media reported that surveillance firm Flock ran a webinar last year instructing law enforcement on monitoring the 'No Kings' anti-Trump protests, as well as ordinary gatherings like parades and fireworks shows. In the session, Flock's Caity Peak demonstrated FlockOS, a platform merging license plate readers, drones, gunshot sensors, 911 data and outside camera feeds into one dashboard, using Denver's protest response as a live example.