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.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-13
404 Media reports that Border Patrol's Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT) analyze Americans' financial transaction patterns to identify people they suspect of crimes, then tip off local police who stop them under unrelated pretexts. In one case, Montana driver Kyle William Olson was pulled over for an obstructed license plate after a PITT agent flagged his finances as resembling narcotics trafficking patterns, leading to DUI and drug charges over cannabis products from his legal California job.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-12
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.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-11
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.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-10
Anthropic is reportedly developing an extensive monitoring system, using outside intelligence firms like Samdesk, to track protests near its offices and anticipate unrest before it happens. The American Prospect reports the company has also shared user conversations from its Claude chatbot with police in at least one case.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-10
Clearview AI, known for scraping billions of photos for facial recognition, is developing an experimental tool called InquiryIQ that would let police feed in a suspect's name and details to automatically scour the web for their employer, aliases, associates, and physical traits. The tool has reportedly tested a model from SpaceXAI, the company behind Grok, and its interface suggests entering demographic data like race and gender helps it make 'smarter decisions.' Clearview has not released InquiryIQ publicly and declined to explain how such inputs affect its outputs.
wired.com
· 2026-09-10
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been analyzing Americans' financial transaction records to help agents identify vehicles and individuals worth pulling over. The practice extends the agency's data-driven surveillance tactics beyond travel and license-plate records into personal banking activity.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-09
Job listings and interviews with Anthropic security officials reveal the company is developing a monitoring system that tracks activists near its executives and offices, aiming to predict protests and incidents before they occur, sometimes alerting police in advance. Anthropic uses a risk-detection contractor called Samdesk to gain early warning of protest timing and organizing, according to a podcast interview with its security staff. Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.
prospect.org
· 2026-09-09
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.
newyorker.com
· 2026-09-09
404 Media reports that Customs and Border Protection operates a little-known unit, the Predictive Intelligence Targeting Team, which reportedly analyzes Americans' financial transaction records and other data to identify people for traffic stops and further scrutiny. CBP declined to detail its methods, citing operational security, while civil liberties attorneys argue the program extends surveillance far beyond CBP's traditional border mission.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-08
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.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-08
President Trump imposed a 100 percent tariff on large foreign-made drones, particularly targeting Chinese models used widely by American police departments. Officials like Lake County Drone Unit chief Scott Mlakar say the tariffs will make it financially difficult for many communities to buy or replace drones used for tasks like locating suspects and missing children. The FCC is also weighing classifying some drone technologies, such as lidar, as military-grade, further restricting access.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-06
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