surveillance technology

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Police Keep Losing Their Jobs for Using Flock Cameras to Stalk People
2 months ago
- Flock cameras are solar-powered, automated license plate readers installed on 80,000 street corners nationwide, logging billions of plates monthly and building an $8.3 billion business.
- Police officers are increasingly using Flock cameras to stalk romantic partners and exes instead of solving crimes, with at least 24 documented cases in the past two years.
- Examples include Milwaukee officers Josue Ayala and Tehrangi Chapman, who both misused the technology to track individuals in their personal lives and faced criminal charges.
- In January 2025 alone, six new cases of officer misconduct involving Flock cameras were reported in states including Wisconsin, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, California, and Georgia.
- Privacy advocates like the ACLU warn that tracking a vehicle's movements reveals deeply personal information, and the technology has also been used to target immigrants without warrants and monitor abortion seekers traveling across state lines.
- Backlash is growing: over 30 municipalities canceled Flock contracts in 2025, and grassroots groups like DeFlock map camera locations, while Flock's CEO has apologized for calling activists 'terroristic'.
- The ACLU expects opposition to government surveillance to unite Americans across political divides, with the movement likely to continue growing.
The ACLU Is Arming Lawyers to Expose State Surveillance Secrets
2 months ago
- The ACLU of Massachusetts is releasing an online toolkit for defense attorneys to uncover secret police surveillance use.
- The toolkit includes legal motions to force disclosure of surveillance tech like facial recognition, license plate readers, and AI reports.
- It also features preservation motions to prevent automatic deletion of surveillance data by government and private vendors.
- The effort aims to address the lag between police adopting new tech and courts ruling on its legality.
- Examples show police often hide surveillance use, even from prosecutors, via secrecy agreements or vague warrants.
- The toolkit helps attorneys request the full scope of surveillance, as many currently ask for limited records.
- Preservation motions target self-destructing evidence, such as AI-drafted police reports or automatically deleted footage.
- Massachusetts courts have shown support for digital privacy, with rulings against withheld evidence and for warrant requirements.
- The release coincides with a recent Supreme Court ruling on geofence warrants, which the toolkit addresses.
- The ACLU plans to adapt the toolkit for other states and gather feedback from attorneys using the motions.
Texas spent $4.5M in Spy SUVs that scan phones in 3 minutes
2 months ago
- Texas Department of Public Safety spent $4.5 million on four Chevy Tahoes equipped with Cognyte's FalcoNet cell-site simulator technology.
- FalcoNet mimics a cell tower, forcing all phones in range to connect, collecting data without warrants or user consent.
- Texas has no state law requiring warrants for this surveillance, unlike federal agencies which must obtain them.
- The purchase contrasts with unresolved state issues like the unstable electric grid, water shortages, and underfunded public services.
- Cognyte is an Israeli company with ties to surveillance used against journalists, activists, and occupied populations.
- Similar technology is being adopted by other U.S. police departments, expanding surveillance capabilities nationally.
- The article criticizes Texas's political hypocrisy, advocating for individual freedom while funding warrantless surveillance.
- Recommendations include reading investigative reports, contacting legislators, voting for specific candidates, and raising public awareness.
Victory Flock Ends Rollout of Audio "Distress Detection" of Human Voices
2 months ago
- Flock Safety ends pilot of acoustic gunshot detection devices for 'human distress' monitoring.
- The feature, originally advertised to detect screaming, was criticized for civil liberties risks and potential illegal surveillance.
- Acoustic detection technology remains dangerous and inaccurate, with risks like police misresponse to non-gunfire sounds.
- Lessons include companies possibly ignoring privacy laws, mission creep in surveillance, and oversimplifying complex issues like gun violence.
- Public pressure can lead to discontinuation of harmful surveillance products, marking a win for community advocacy.
Cops Use Flock to Track People, Not Cars
2 months ago
- Flock's FreeForm AI search allows police to search for people by descriptors like clothing, accessories, or race across hundreds of cameras, not just vehicles via license plates.
- Searches can be broad and vague (e.g., 'person walking', 'backpack', 'gray shirt'), potentially capturing images of innocent individuals, raising surveillance and privacy concerns.
- Civil liberties groups criticize the system as a 'bait-and-switch', expanding surveillance capabilities significantly without facial recognition, by analyzing video data like text.
- Some searches reference race or political affiliation (e.g., 'white male', 'non caucasian male', 'Trump flag'), despite Flock claiming guardrails against such attributes.
- Flock integrates AI video analytics with license plate readers, linking data streams to track individuals' movements and details extensively, amid public backlash over privacy risks.
Guerrilla London bus ads mock Kylie Jenner’s Meta glasses campaign
2 months ago
- Guerrilla ads by Everyone Hates Elon mock Meta's Kylie Jenner glasses campaign, highlighting privacy and consent concerns.
- Spoof bus stop ad flips between Jenner's image and an X-ray version with the tagline "We're always watching," referencing the film They Live.
- Meta's latest smart glasses allow three minutes of recording, raising fears of secret surveillance, especially by "Manosphere" creators harassing women.
- Researchers used Meta glasses footage for facial recognition to extract personal data, showing gaps in privacy laws and ethical oversight.
- Activists question why billionaires fund such surveillance technology instead of societal benefits like cancer cures.
Texas Police Spent $4.5M on Four Chevy Tahoes
2 months ago
- FalcoNet, an Israeli surveillance system by Cognyte, intercepts phone-cell tower connections to track individuals secretly, deployable via helicopter, backpack, or vehicle like Chevy Tahoes.
- Texas Department of Public Safety spent $4.5 million on four FalcoNet-equipped 2026 Chevy Tahoes, citing emergency needs without specifics, with costs including core systems, licenses, and specialized equipment.
- The technology raises privacy concerns by mass data collection; the Supreme Court ruled in Chatrie v United States that location tracking violates Fourth Amendment rights, while its legality remains questionable.
- FalcoNet features include a compact core module, hardware interfaces for LAN and RF, power needs from 24v to 36v, and modular deployment kits in Pelican cases, with potential stealth antenna setups.
Flock Cameras Wrongly Tracked Me for Days over 'Stolen' Plates
2 months ago
- A journalist and his wife were surrounded by police in a Kohl's parking lot after being mistaken for car thieves due to a license plate error.
- The Plymouth Police Department tracked the vehicle using Flock license plate cameras, alerted by a data-entry mistake where a lost plate was recorded as '34 DTM' instead of '34 03 DTM'.
- Flock's AI system failed to recognize the non-standard font of the small '10' on the New Jersey manufacturer plate, flagging any similar plate structure nationwide.
- The incident highlights the risks of widespread surveillance networks where errors can lead to dangerous police confrontations, despite the driver's cooperation and clean record.
- The police report later revealed the plate was misplaced during a photo shoot and not stolen, underscoring the avoidable nature of the ordeal.

surveillance technology

Police Keep Losing Their Jobs for Using Flock Cameras to Stalk People

The ACLU Is Arming Lawyers to Expose State Surveillance Secrets

Texas spent $4.5M in Spy SUVs that scan phones in 3 minutes

Victory Flock Ends Rollout of Audio "Distress Detection" of Human Voices

Cops Use Flock to Track People, Not Cars

Guerrilla London bus ads mock Kylie Jenner’s Meta glasses campaign

Texas Police Spent $4.5M on Four Chevy Tahoes

Flock Cameras Wrongly Tracked Me for Days over 'Stolen' Plates