‘DO NOT MENTION #ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of #Flock

https://www.404media.co/do-not-mention-alpr-usage-how-cops-are-trying-to-hide-the-existence-of-flock/

#police #privacy #surveillance

The #SEC Bought #Airline Data to Monitor Flights Worldwide

https://www.404media.co/the-sec-bought-airline-data-to-monitor-flights-worldwide/

#travel #privacy #surveillance

🕵️ Latest from #Surveillance #Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) #NYC

“A new WIRED investigation raises questions about Madison Square Garden's surveillance and data collection․ As S․T․O․P․ Legal Director Darío Maestro said: 'A company that cannot secure a customer list has no business sca…”

https://bsky.app/profile/stopspyingny.bsky.social/post/3mq7v7fiqik2j

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If you own the tech ancient #googlehome mini.
Which at one time was being given away for free with whitegoods,
#google has recently upgraded the #Ai on it...
It's now a voice control for their #gemini #llm
Rather than the supremely dumb (pre LLM) "AI"

So now, you can have your privacy violated and live under total tech #surveillance in a smart way.

But, kudos to Google for not just junking their old tech.
You don't see that often.

"When cops use Flock to arrest someone in Wapello County, Iowa, they don’t want them to know. A usage policy for the automated license plate reader cameras in the county tells police, in no uncertain terms, to keep them a secret: “DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE TO THE OCCUPANTS OF THE VEHICLE,” the policy document reads. “DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE IN YOUR REPORT OR COMPLAINT UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.”

The police guidance document is unusual in how clearly it tells police not to mention their Flock use, but it also highlights several important things in the Flock debate. While Flock likes to say that it is a transparent surveillance company and that it cares about “accountability” and “governance,” some of its customers believe its use should be kept secret. Flock is now operating in thousands of cities and towns, and when, how, and why police use the system is wildly inconsistent. Even though Flock does have various auditing and transparency tools, police have their own opinions about what Flock can and should be used for and what the policies for it should be."

https://www.404media.co/do-not-mention-alpr-usage-how-cops-are-trying-to-hide-the-existence-of-flock/

#USA #Flock #Surveillance #PoliceState #ALPR

John Oliver just broke down how US police surveil everyone: plate readers logging every car for 30 days (35%+ of alerts false), ShotSpotter mics that mistake fireworks for gunfire, Stingrays faking cell towers. Worth a watch. youtu.be/lnBPhelCdWE

#surveillance #ALPR #indigoprivacy

Why a #Flock Worker Quit: ‘They Lied’

https://www.404media.co/why-a-flock-worker-quit-they-lied/

#privacy #surveillance #police

How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/rogue-officers-turned-nationwide-camera-122127787.html

#privacy #surveillance #police

🕵️ Latest from #Surveillance #Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) #NYC

“BREAKING: S․T․O․P․ Argues Texas App Store Accountability Act Should Be Struck

⌗Surveillance

stopspying․org/content-input/stop-argues-texas-app-store-accountability-act-should-be-struck”

https://bsky.app/profile/stopspyingny.bsky.social/post/3mq3d3pva6c2j

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Wow cool

“Californians can now delete their personal information from hundreds of data broker websites with a single request, under a first-of-its-kind state privacy program.”
https://bsky.app/profile/ccgene.sheshed.rocks/post/3ms7up662422s

#Privacy #Surveillance #California

Title: The SCREEN Act Threatens Privacy Far Beyond Adult Websites

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/08/03/the-screen-act-threatens-privacy-far-beyond-adult-websites/

#privacy #digitalrights #surveillance

"He had searched her car hundreds of times over a span of about 13 months, sometimes dozens of times a week, the audit records showed. Many of his searches were made between midnight and 4 a.m." Drew Harwell, Douglas MacMillan, and @AaronJSchaffer for The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/02/how-police-officers-used-vast-network-cameras-spy-their-exes/?src=longreads #surveillance #technology #investigation #journalism #longreads

What sort of surveillance technology are YOUR local police using against you?

https://www.atlasofsurveillance.org/

#Surveillance #Technology #Website #Tech

Steve Elmers, also known as the “Guardrail Guy,” is done calling out license plate readers after two that appeared in his videos were vandalized.

Alt...

The ‘Guardrail Guy’ Went Viral for Posting About Flock Cameras. Then Someone Destroyed Them

🕵️ Latest from #Surveillance #Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) #NYC

“Join us on July 8 for our Biometric Map Training, on how to use S․T․O․P․'s community-sourced Biometric Map to report sites of facial recognition, palm scans, and more surveillance tools across NYC․

Register here: us02w…”

https://bsky.app/profile/stopspyingny.bsky.social/post/3mpyqzzbptc2v

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Steganography 101 by Benn Jordan

When our government is spying on everything we post, we probably will still need to hide stuff.

WIth good steganography, hidden messages in plain sight will survive also social media compression, spotify, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhoJK02oD_E

#steganography #encryption #survival #fascism #autocracy #surveillance

🕵️ Latest from #Surveillance #Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) #NYC

“Our Communications Director, Will Owen, spoke with Vox about neighborhood surveillance.

"Being a good neighbor does not mean spying on your neighbors. We need to rethink neighborhood surveillance."

Read the full story ...”

https://bsky.app/profile/stopspyingny.bsky.social/post/3mpyemyy6ns2k

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"Flock says that in optimal conditions, its cameras accurately read more than 96% of license plate characters. Hundreds of pages of records from the Roseville Police Department show a different picture. In 2023 and 2024, Flock sent 1,427 alerts to Roseville police, flagging vehicles as stolen or used in a felony after they passed one of the city's Flock cameras. An analysis by the police department found that in 71% of those alerts, Flock's machine-learning software incorrectly read the license plates.

Business Insider filed public-records requests to obtain email correspondence, data, meeting notes, contracts, and other records that reveal the extensive back-and-forth between Roseville and Flock over repeated errors by Flock's system. The cameras regularly missed vehicles, captured blurry images, misread license plate characters and states, and sent delayed alerts to police about vehicles possibly connected to crimes, the records show.

Roseville — which, Flock noted, has an atypical setup for its cameras— has flagged problems to the startup dozens of times over the past four years. The department said it has reported issues to the company as recently as this year, and it continues to meet with Flock twice a month to provide updates and share concerns."

https://www.businessinsider.com/flock-camera-misread-license-plate-reader-california-roseville-police-2026-7

#USA #Surveillance #Flock #PoliceState #ALPRs

This Company Will Add Phone, AirPod, and Smartwatch Trackers to #LicensePlate Readers
#SignalTrace “links devices that regularly travel together, correlating them to license plate.” It is a surveillance product that will sweep up and add all sorts of #Bluetooth and other data to license plate readers, linking specific devices—and people—to #cars.
https://www.404media.co/this-company-will-add-phone-airpod-and-smartwatch-trackers-to-license-plate-readers/
https://archive.ph/zdl0s
#ALPR #Privacy #Surveillance

Andy Burnham says Britain’s £1.8bn Digital ID programme is dead. The official record tells a more complicated story.

One Login, GOV.UK Wallet, private verification firms and statutory data-sharing powers remain—alongside Palantir’s expanding NHS and defence footprint.

I traced what was cancelled, and what quietly survived.

https://thomaster.substack.com/p/burnham-cancelled-digital-id-britains

#DigitalID #Palantir #Privacy #Surveillance #CivilLiberties #UKPolitics

Adam's Bail Fund is below 👇🏿

He appears to have a court date set for August 5th.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-adam-lee-heimermans-legal-defense

#AdamHeimerman #AdamLeeHeimerman #FuckFlock #tennessee #MutualAid #CourtWatch #Flock #ACAB #USPol #Privacy #surveillance

#Flock cameras are getting mobbed

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/30/us/flock-camera-vandalism-protests-cec

#privacy #surveillance

🛡️ #Cybersecurity news & tips across the #fediverse

“#Abortion #Texas #Flock #Surveillance #DeFlock

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:slvrwyq6xhuovz27qctcpxqz/post/3mrvhs5m2ys24”

https://bsky.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:k6icdendy255kankozfy3ezd/post/3mrvidhbqt22l

🤖 via RSS feed. Not an endorsement.

It may be a bias in my search terms, but I'm not seeing the pushback from Canadians that I expected? Or is it that the MPs are listening only to party leadership?

#Canada #C22 #Bill_C22 #CanadaBillC22
#Surveillance

https://youtu.be/Vj7x6mWvIJs

Flock surveillance cameras can pose a crash risk for drivers

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/30/controversial-flock-ai-surveillance-camera-risk

#AI #privacy #surveillance

Sigh, I found two good videos on the virtues of buying old cars (price, esthetics, privacy), and discovered that they were run by (sometimes religious) conservatives.

It’s funny, but sometimes I feel that progressives aren’t pushing back as hard as some conservatives against the invasive #surveillance tech that is ever more present in modern cars. It’s truly appalling what data carmakers are collecting, and how difficult cars are getting to repair thanks to an over-reliance on software, computers, and displays. Sadly, EVs mostly come with surveillance problems, because they are relatively new.

We really need consumer rights laws, like yesterday. But short of that, having a healthy car enthusiast population that steadfastly rejects intrusive car tech is a good thing.

https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/

#cars #privacy #surveillance

🕵️ Latest from #Surveillance #Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) #NYC

“Join us on July 8 for our Biometric Map Training, on how to use S.T.O.P.'s community-sourced Biometric Map to report sites of facial recognition, palm scans, and more surveillance tools across NYC.

Register at the link ...”

https://bsky.app/profile/stopspyingny.bsky.social/post/3mpltlih5sk2d

🤖 via RSS feed. May not reflect our views.

Voice stress analysis software marketed for use in lie detection by law enforcement and insurance investigators has no established scientific validity.

#privacy #surveillance #AIethics #indigoprivacy

Why Are Gay Bars Building Databases of Their Patrons?

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/why-are-gay-bars-building-databases-their-patrons

#LGBTQ #Pride #surveillance #privacy

'I Would Never Do This To You:' Protesting #Flock, #Arizona Man Presents Plan to Surveil Government Officials

https://www.404media.co/casa-grande-arizona-flock-city-council/

#surveillance #privacy #ALPR #politics

Some Municipalities Are Replacing #Flock Cameras With #Axon, But Is There A Difference?

https://www.jalopnik.com/2215173/flock-cameras-replaced-by-axon-difference/

#ALPR #privacy #surveillance

🕵️ Latest from #Surveillance #Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) #NYC

“"Although Flock cameras are often referred to as license plate readers, that's reductive. Reading license plates is their primary task, but they can be used to track just about anyone or anything."

#Surveillance #Camera...”

https://bsky.app/profile/stopspyingny.bsky.social/post/3mpjl4qnl3c2t

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🛡️ #Cybersecurity news & tips across the #fediverse

“Forcing VPN Companies To Become Palantir | Canada's Data Harvesting Law (CA-22)

#cdnpoli #privacy #CA22 #surveillance

youtube.com/watch?v=Vj7x...

Forcing VPN Companies to Becom...”

https://bsky.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:3c5jgoau5nb42r6ecka4pmpw/post/3mrppg76owc2x

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The US is definitely a very awkward society. Instead of restricting the personal ownership of guns, they implement mechanisms for total surveillance..

"Recent reports have raised alarm about the use of PatronScan, an ID-checking and face-scanning system, at multiple LGBTQ+ bars in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. Much of the attention has focused on reports that the system photographs patrons as they enter venues and questions about whether those images are used for facial recognition.

A broader privacy concern also deserves scrutiny. For years, PatronScan has marketed itself not just as an ID-verification tool, but as a system that allows bars and clubs to identify patrons, keep records about them, and share information across venues. As one news article published in 2019 documented, PatronScan built a network that allowed participating bars to flag patrons and share information about them with other establishments.

And in California, it’s not at all clear how PatronScan’s business model of scanning IDs and sharing the information from those scans with other bars comports with the law. California’s ID privacy law, which was amended in 2018 to add ID “scans,” states that no businesses shall “retain or use” any information from a scanned ID card except for limited purposes such as to verify age, comply with a legal requirement, or prevent fraud.

A venue cannot claim to be a safe space while feeding its patrons’ data to a third party database."

#USA #California #Surveillance #PatronScan #FacialRecognition #Privacy

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/why-are-gay-bars-building-databases-their-patrons

"In charging a man for allegedly typing in a duress password which wiped his privacy-focused GrapheneOS phone, the U.S. government is trying to intimidate other activists from protecting their data and participating in social movements, Samuel Tunick, the man charged, told 404 Media in an interview on Tuesday.

The case of Tunick, who participated in the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, has resonated across privacy and civil liberties circles. 404 Media first broke news of the case in December. Last week, The Guardian reported additional details including from a court hearing in the case. The maximum sentence for the alleged crime is five years in federal prison.

“I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to intimidate people against protecting their data and their privacy, and the government hopes to set a precedent that no one has the right to privacy,” Tunick told 404 Media in a conference call with his federal public defender Matthew Dodge."

https://www.404media.co/the-government-hopes-to-set-a-precedent-an-interview-with-the-man-charged-for-allegedly-wiping-his-grapheneos-phone/

#USA #FBI #CivilLiberties #Privacy #Activism #GrapheneOS #Surveillance

July 16, 2026 “The Command and Control Center, inaugurated today, lies at the heart of a new philosophy and approach adopted by the Albanian government toward public safety. The ‘Smart City’ program is not merely a camera project. Anyone who sees it that way is either deliberately downplaying it or has not yet understood its true scope,” Lamallari said.

The minister explained that the system is built on three integrated components: information sources distributed across the country, a centralized command and control platform, and artificial intelligence that analyzes incoming data in real time."
#Corruption #Surveillance #Albania #FlamingoRevolution https://euronews.al/en/rama-and-lamallari-present-smart-city-command-and-control-center-system-detects-threats-in-real-time/

It must be said that while the #FlamingoRevolution is a big tent movement, most of its real movers & shakers are....students and student age.

#Protest #Privacy #Corruption #Surveillance #Albania

Alt...

“Any behavior that is potentially dangerous or in violation of the law is detected through artificial intelligence and generates an alert here at the Command and Control Center, which is immediately forwarded to the nearest police patrol. The system is designed to identify, analyze, and warn of risks in real time, enabling proactive and preventive action,” he said. Referring to the first phase of the project, Lamallari said beginning with 20 of Tirana’s busiest schools was a strategic decision. “It is no coincidence that we are launching this project—which represents a major leap forward in ensuring public safety in Albania—by focusing on the capital’s 20 most frequented schools. A country’s security is measured not only by crime statistics but also by its ability to protect its children,” the minister stated.

#Surveillance Cameras Can Now Be Retrofitted to Track Your Wireless Device Fingerprint

https://www.privacyguides.org/news/2026/07/27/surveillance-cameras-can-now-be-retrofitted-to-track-your-wireless-device-fingerprint/

#privacy #Leonardo #ALPR

Pokemon Cards shouldn't be worth your privacy!

The Pokémon Company is bringing facial recognition to stores to fight scalpers

https://www.polygon.com/pokemon-facial-recognition-japan-stores-tcg-set-storm-emeralda/

#PokemonCompany #Pokemon #FacialRecognition #TradingCards #Scalpers #Privacy #Surveillance #Tech #Gaming

Every one of America's 20 state privacy laws — and the federal proposals that died before becoming law — explicitly exempts government from the rules that bind companies. The drone leak, the license-plate stalking, the ER-records grab: this is why none of it needed your consent. #Surveillance #Privacy

https://www.thebluf.news/p/privacy-laws-exempt-government

#Garbage trucks may soon start spying on people—where it’s happening

https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/artificial-intelligence/garbage-trucks-may-soon-start-spying-on-people-where-it-s-happening/ar-AA28hIjk

#privacy #surveillance #infrastructure #trash #Florida

United and American don't just swap miles with hotels and card partners. Airline data broker ARC sells passenger travel records to DHS and marketers, cross-linked with your card spending into a full movement profile.

#privacy #surveillance #socialmedia #indigoprivacy

How criminals are taking down Flock cameras

#surveillance #politics #resistance #resist #usa #authoritarianism #fascism #civildisobedience #USAFascistShitShow #policestate #policemilitarization #federalinvasion #nokings #abolishice #privacy #flock #palantir #4thamendment #Chatrie_v_United_States

How #Cops Use #Flock to Track People, Not Cars
Cops have used Flock's FreeForm search feature to look for people with tattoos and wearing specific sport shirts, and searches sometimes include the target's race, according to data.
Highlights while people associate Flock cameras with scanning license plates and tracking vehicles, cameras are also capable of following the movements of particular people or groups of people.
https://www.404media.co/how-cops-use-flock-to-track-people-not-cars/
https://archive.ph/k4E8q
#privacy #surveillance

Hundreds of Drone-as-First-Responder Programs Could Soon Be Launched Across the Country

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/hundreds-drone-first-responder-programs-could-soon-be-launched-across-country

#drone #privacy #surveillance

#Flock's CEO Says its ALPRs Don't Do Video After Repeatedly Announcing They Can

https://www.404media.co/flocks-ceo-says-its-alprs-dont-do-video-after-repeatedly-announcing-they-can/

#ALPR #privacy #surveillance