Crow's Nest
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 · The digital civil-liberties brief · View on the web
Hackers revealed a single Flock camera captured 1.6 million vehicle images.
A hacker collective extracted software and logs from a Flock surveillance camera, revealing a single device captured 1.6 million images tracking 50,000 vehicles over 21 days, Wired and 404 Media reported. (wired.com)
Top
- Parents sued Meta over NameTag smart glasses harvesting facial recognition data. (Gizmodo)
- Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens proposed rules regulating police Flock camera searches. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
- A data breach exposed 153 million driver's licenses, including Pete Hegseth's. (okmagazine.com)
- Venues across England and Wales began accepting digital ID for age verification. (bigbrotherwatch.org.uk)
- ShinyHunters breached Florida motor vehicle systems using credentials saved on a personal device. (abcnews4.com)
The pattern
Officers in three police departments faced discipline, arrest, or exposure for misusing Flock license-plate reader search systems.
- A Goshen officer searched 82,413 license-plate cameras by typing 'idk' into logs. (eff.org)
- San Jose fired an officer for tracking a domestic violence victim with Flock. (San Francisco Gate)
- An officer faced arrest for running unauthorized searches on Flock surveillance cameras. (WPDE)
Under the radar
- Hays County rejected a $4.5 million Axon contract over AI surveillance concerns. (KXAN.com)
- Pasco police launched a voluntary registry mapping private security cameras with Axon. (News Radio 610 KONA)
Flock watch
Boston drops Flock over federal data sharing (arstechnica.com)
Local governments cancel Flock contracts amid data hurdles (theverge.com)
Wapello County, Iowa defends Flock cameras after school burglary (Ottumwa Courier, Iowa)
Indianapolis misses quorum on Flock search limits (Fox 59)
Houston loses 224 Flock cameras after funding freeze (Houston Chronicle)
Wisconsin considers ban on government Flock cameras (https://www.wsaw.com)
North Attleborough debates surveillance risks of Flock cameras (WJAR)
Moline halts nine-camera Flock contract (Local 4 News WHBF TV)
Portage defends $278,250 Flock contract amid controversy (Chicago Tribune)
Surveillance & Privacy
- Excelsior Springs residents petitioned to halt Flock cameras, warning of nationwide surveillance. (KMBC 9)
- El Paso proposed removing all Flock license plate readers within 60 days. (KVIA.com)
- Fourteen residents urged the Cambridge council to reject Flock license-plate readers. (WHIZ - Fox 5 / Marquee Broadcasting)
- President Donald Trump endorsed Flock automated license-plate readers aboard Air Force One. (thehill.com)
Coming Up
Thu Sep 17 · EXPIRES · Utah — Expiration of forbearance agreement pausing enforcement of Utah online age verification law SB 73 against Aylo (ABC 4)
Fri Sep 18 · COMMENTS DUE · Federal Trade Commission — FTC accepts public comments on proposed enforcement policy requiring disclosure of personalized surveillance pricing (JD Supra)
Fri Sep 18 · DEADLINE · CPSC — Consumer Product Safety Commission deadline to respond to congressional inquiry regarding collection of emergency room patient records (Gold Rush Cam)
Fri Sep 18 · DEADLINE · Kosciusko County, IN — Deadline for local agencies to export evidence before County IT terminates access to the county Flock camera network (NewsChannel 15 WANE-TV Fort Wayne)
Fri Sep 18 · DEADLINE · Department of Homeland Security — Proposals due for DHS procurement of government-wide biometric capture devices (biometricupdate.com)
Fri Sep 18 · EXPIRES · Kosciusko County, IN — Local access to the Flock license-plate reader camera system ends for law enforcement agencies (95.3 MNC)
Speech & Press
- A federal judge found First Amendment violations in a warning to an ICE critic. (courtlistener.com)
- The European Commission proposed barring children under 15 from unsupervised social media. (biometricupdate.com)
- A school district settled for $175,000 over fifth-graders reading gender books to kindergartners. (reason.com)
Useful
Atlas of Surveillance — EFF's searchable record of which surveillance technologies each police department has bought, by city and agency.
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