Candidates across parties are campaigning against Flock Safety's AI-powered license-plate camera network, which operates in thousands of U.S. communities and lets police search shared vehicle data. Politicians in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida have called for bans, funding cuts, warrant requirements, or campaigned directly against the surveillance system. Flock defends the technology, citing its role in solving roughly a million crimes and reuniting thousands of missing people with families.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-04
A California bill aimed at regulating surveillance-based pricing — where retailers use personal data to set individualized prices — failed to advance to Governor Newsom's desk before the legislative deadline. The California Retailers Association responded by expressing hope that lawmakers can restart negotiations next year by focusing on points of existing consensus.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-02
As communities destroy Flock's automatic license plate readers over privacy concerns, some police departments switching to Axon are worried its similar-looking cameras will become the next target. In a leaked webinar, Axon CEO Rick Smith confirmed the company is exploring shape changes to its ALPRs after customer requests, alongside plans to mount cameras on streetlights and add explanatory signage.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-02
E-commerce SEO firm Productrise found that identical products listed through Google's AI Mode averaged 21.6 percent higher prices than the same items shown via traditional Google Search. The study also found AI Mode listings appeared 49 percent more prominently to users, and nearly half the time recommended a different primary retailer than standard search results.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-02
Pennsylvania health officials reported a newborn and a child died of measles, but the CDC removed these two deaths from its national measles surveillance data over the weekend after initially including them. New CDC director Erica Schwartz reportedly ordered the change, adding a disclaimer stating it's unclear whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-01
Florida's Department of Transportation issued a memo revoking permits for all automated license plate readers, including those made by Flock, installed on state highways. The agency says operators have 30 days to remove the devices, and it will no longer approve new placement requests on state roadways.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-01
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has frozen further state spending on Flock's AI-powered license plate cameras, a decision made shortly before a Texas Tribune investigation exposed that the state had already spent over $30 million on the technology. That funding came largely from a $1 fee added to insurance policies, ostensibly to combat catalytic converter theft.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-30
Anti-surveillance group Secure Justice reports that 214 cities and counties have dropped Flock Safety's license-plate camera contracts since 2021, with 90 cancellations in August alone—a fourfold jump from July. Communities from Lansing, Michigan to Pflugerville, Texas cited cost, data-sharing practices, network reach, and cases of police misuse as reasons for ending their deals. Flock says new city partnerships still outnumber cancellations roughly 10 to 1 this year.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-30
After a federal judge twice rejected requests for search warrants targeting the YouTube accounts of journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon, the Department of Homeland Security pursued the same information through an administrative summons under a customs statute (19 USC 1509) that requires only internal DHS sign-off, not judicial approval. DHS also obtained six months of Fort's phone records without notifying her or giving her a chance to contest it. The customs law is intended for verifying import duties, not for investigations unrelated to trade.
theguardian.com
· 2026-08-29
A YouGov survey of 20,000 Americans shared with The Washington Post found 46% now oppose police license plate reading cameras made by Flock Safety, versus 38% in favor—a reversal from last year's majority support. Most respondents also said the cameras don't make them feel safer. The findings come amid mounting controversy over Flock, including a doxxing campaign against its CEO Garrett Langley and an Ohio grand jury's refusal to indict a man who destroyed one of the company's cameras.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-29
Secure Justice, an Oakland-based anti-surveillance group, reports that 214 cities and counties have dropped Flock Safety license-plate camera contracts since 2021, with 90 cancellations in August 2026 alone—four times July's total. Communities citing surveillance overreach, data-sharing concerns, cost, and police misuse are ending deals at roughly three per day over the past month. Flock disputes the significance, saying new partnerships have outpaced cancellations 10 to 1 in 2026.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-28
A Wall Street Journal report on the rapid expansion of Flock Safety's AI-powered license-plate reading cameras drew sharp reactions from readers, who split between viewing the systems as vital crime-fighting tools and warning they enable mass surveillance. The debate centers on how widely law enforcement and communities are adopting the technology and what oversight, if any, governs its use.
wsj.com
· 2026-08-28
GoKawiil