Crow's Nest
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 · The digital civil-liberties brief · View on the web
Carey bans automated license plate readers, facial recognition, and predictive policing.
Carey passed an ordinance barring municipal use of automated license plate readers, facial recognition, and predictive policing systems, according to KTVB. The measure coincided with the county sheriff agreeing to remove a camera from within city limits. (KTVB)
Top
- The Secret Service operates an unpublicized drone surveillance system adjacent to the White House. (Stamford Advocate)
- Plymouth City Council voted 6 to 1 to turn off its 18 Flock cameras. (5 EYEWITNESS NEWS)
- Pune Police will deploy over 3,500 CCTV cameras and facial recognition during Ganeshotsav. (Punekar News)
- Hertfordshire Police scanned 101,755 faces across five live facial recognition deployments. (Watford Observer)
- Judge Kymberly Evanson dismissed a DOJ lawsuit for unredacted Washington voter rolls. (washingtonstatestandard.com)
The pattern
Lawmakers in three jurisdictions introduced bills or proposals to restrict police use of automated license plate readers.
- New York legislation from Sen. Michelle Hinchey would restrict automated license plate readers. (dailyfreeman.com)
- Ohio lawmakers introduce bills to restrict police use of Flock cameras. (Cleveland.com)
- Sen. Rand Paul proposes requiring police to obtain individualized warrants before accessing Flock data. (gadgetreview.com)
Flock watch
Monroe City Council voted 5-0 to deactivate 23 Flock cameras (Dayton Daily News)
Adrian commissioners end Flock contract for 10 cameras (wowo.com)
Chattanooga enters five-year Axon agreement for street cameras (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
Auburn councilors send ALPR ban to a ballot (Lewiston Sun Journal )
Athens-Clarke County fired analyst for allegedly tracking ex-wife with Flock (Oconee Enterprise)
Surveillance & Privacy
- Lawsuits allege Meta secretly transmitted intimate smart glasses video to Kenyan contractors. (ArcaMax)
- Cheshire's police panel questioned commissioner Dan Price over live facial recognition deployments. (Northwich Guardian)
- ICE expands phone-hacking capabilities with a $96 million Cellebrite contract. (The Daily Beast)
- Supreme Court will review Video Privacy Protection Act scope in a newsletter dispute. (The National Law Review - A Free To Use Nationwide Database of Legal Publications)
Coming Up
Wed Sep 23 · TAKES EFFECT · York, UK — North Yorkshire Police deploys live facial recognition technology in York city centre (Harrogate Informer)
Wed Sep 23 · HEARING · Washington, DC — Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism holds a hearing on automated license plate readers and surveillance tech (WFLA)
Wed Sep 23 · HEARING · U.S. Senate — U.S. senators question Flock Safety CEO regarding surveillance technology (footnote4a.org)
Wed Sep 23 · VOTE · Los Angeles, CA — Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners considers approval of a $235M Axon contract expanding ALPR and streetlight surveillance (NBC Southern California)
Thu Sep 24 · DEADLINE · La Cañada Flintridge, CA — Deadline to submit resident questions about Flock cameras for the Public Safety Commission meeting agenda packet (outlooknewspapers.com)
Speech & Press
- The ACLU of Minnesota sued Detroit Lakes schools over a rainbow flag ban. (INFORUM)
- The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that destroying requested documents constitutes an illegal refusal. (The College Fix)
- A federal court dismissed a retaliatory arrest lawsuit against Michigan officials. (Michigan Lawyers Weekly)
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