GoKawiil
Tech News
Surveillance vendor VIDIZMO has told police departments it can integrate facial recognition technology into Flock's camera network. According to the company's own website, the system can sort individuals into seven racial categories and estimate age, and VIDIZMO markets this demographic breakdown as useful for both law enforcement and commercial marketing purposes.
A U.S. federal judge ruled that Flock's automated license-plate reading cameras constitute 'indiscriminate mass surveillance' by continuously logging vehicle locations. The ruling threw out drug charges against a driver after finding that an officer's warrantless use of Flock's travel-history data to justify a traffic stop violated reasonable expectations of privacy, suppressing all evidence gathered afterward.
A new lawsuit alleges that DHS agents drove past the homes of people who were observing or protesting ICE activity as an apparent intimidation tactic. The suit further claims those individuals' names were entered into Homeland Security's investigations database, which is built on Palantir technology, according to Wired.
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the Ban Flock Act, which would prohibit federal agencies from operating automatic license plate reader systems or accessing data from such systems run by local police or private vendors like Flock. The bill allows exceptions only for toll collection and future congressional approvals capped at 48-hour data retention, and would cut federal grants to state and local governments that fail to comply, while allowing lawsuits and enforcement by state attorneys general.
Officials in St. Lucie County, Florida discovered 11 license-plate reader cameras installed along roads without any permits or links to local or state agencies. Authorities say they have not determined who installed the devices or where the collected data has been going.
Reports indicate Apple is developing AI-driven features that would let devices continuously see and hear their surroundings, processing data without necessarily storing the raw video or audio. The approach is framed as a privacy-conscious alternative to traditional surveillance, since footage would not be retained long-term.
Several US municipalities, including Fort Worth, Castle Rock, Dunwoody, Fulton County and Middletown, are piloting or adopting Flock's Drones-as-First-Responder system, which launches rooftop-docked drones automatically in response to 911 calls, license-plate alerts, or gunshot detection. Fort Worth's two-month pilot logged 162 drone dispatches with a 112-second average response time, arriving first at 76 calls and letting officers clear 11 without an in-person visit. Flock gained its drone capability by acquiring Aerodome, a maker of drones with HD and thermal cameras.
After canceling its Flock contract, St. Lucie County, Florida discovered 66 license-plate-reading cameras installed instead of the 52 it had authorized. The sheriff's office admitted to owning three of the extras without explaining their deployment, leaving 11 cameras that no local police agency has claimed. The county has wrapped the unclaimed devices in plastic with notices stating they will be removed within 30 days.
Walmart has publicly denied that its digital shelf labels and newly patented dynamic AI pricing technology will charge customers differently based on personal data, with CEO John Furner stating income, shopping history or urgency won't affect prices. McDonald's has separately faced media scrutiny over AI systems tied to price variation across locations, calling the coverage 'speculative and misinformed.' Both companies' practices are drawing attention amid broader debate over surveillance pricing involving lawmakers and the FTC.
After St. Lucie County, Florida ordered removal of Flock license-plate cameras from local roads, police discovered 14 cameras operating without required permits. Eleven of those cameras have no identified owner, while the Sheriff's Office claimed the remaining three but declined to explain why it never obtained permits or whether it accessed the data collected.
MSG owner James Dolan and his family have donated roughly $108,000 directly to Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive who is trailing Governor Kathy Hochul by nine points or more in most polls. Blakeman has proposed expanded surveillance infrastructure, including license plate readers and biometric tracking along the city-suburb border, and supports data centers, AI deepfakes, Flock surveillance, ICE and private militias. Dolan previously donated to Hochul in the last election cycle and has also given significant sums to Trump's 2020 campaign and the RNC.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills barring employers from basing termination or disciplinary decisions solely on AI, and requiring disclosure when AI triggers mass layoffs or relocations. The laws also ban surveillance tools in workplace bathrooms and prevent lawyers from fully outsourcing core legal work to AI systems. Newsom additionally signed an order mandating state agencies use the term 'artificial intelligence' rather than 'super intelligence.'