Crow's Nest
Monday, October 19, 2026 · The digital civil-liberties brief · View on the web
El Paso City Council voted unanimously to bar Flock Safety license plate reader contracts.
According to reporting from The Cool Down and DiarioBitcoin, the El Paso City Council voted unanimously to bar the city manager from signing or extending automated license plate reader contracts, reclaiming authority over vehicle surveillance. (DiarioBitcoin)
ANALYSIS El Paso Bans Future Automated License-Plate Reader Contracts Over Privacy Concerns (The Cool Down)
Top
- Volunteers cataloged over 140,000 Flock license plate readers on DeFlock across the US. (Gadget Review)
- Hong Kong police finalize talks to connect private shopping mall feeds to surveillance. (South China Morning Post)
- Lawsuit challenges a DHS probe collecting voter records from at least 47 states. (electionlawblog.org)
- Benin, Ghana, and Rwanda linked national ID systems for cross-border travel verification. (biometricupdate.com)
- Somalia plans a digital portal requiring a national ID for ~70 public services. (biometricupdate.com)
The pattern
Four police officers were fired, indicted or charged for unauthorized searches of license-plate reader databases.
- An Ohio grand jury indicted a police lieutenant for 29 unauthorized Flock searches. (The Auto Wire)
- Milton, Georgia fired a detective for using Flock cameras to check his wife. (WSB-TV)
- Brenham, Texas fired an officer after an audit revealed misuse of license-plate readers. (SouthTexasNews.com)
- A former Braintree detective faces court charges for allegedly searching Flock cameras. (whdh.com)
Under the radar
- Outside agencies ran 2.75 million searches on Asheville license plate readers without logging. (The Asheville Citizen Times)
Flock watch
Wausau weighs terminating Flock contract (Wausau Pilot & Review)
Fullerton pauses 19 Flock cameras for six months (Orange County Register)
Ohio police agencies search Flock for damaged or stolen cameras (Dayton Daily News)
Houston police ran 183,252 searches of UNC Charlotte cameras (Click2Houston)
West Virginia deputies queried Flock over 200 times for welfare checks (WTRF)
Surveillance & Privacy
- Cook County filings accuse Coco and Serve Robotics of scanning faces and hands. (Block Club Chicago)
- Idaho Supreme Court rules a drug dog's nose touch is not a search. (Idaho Press)
- Temple Police Department plans drone deployment for emergency response. (FOX 44)
- Citizen Lab reports Israeli firm Discover-Tech deployed Candiru spyware via targeted ads. (NaturalNews.com)
Coming Up
Mon Oct 19 · BALLOT · League City, Texas — Early voting begins on ballot measure deciding whether League City continues using Flock cameras (Houston Chronicle)
Mon Oct 19 · DEADLINE · Charleston, WV — Flock Safety deadline to confirm appearance at West Virginia legislative committee meeting (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
Mon Oct 19 · MEETING · Sonoma County, CA — Commission on Human Rights hosts a community forum on law enforcement use of automated license plate readers (The Press Democrat)
Mon Oct 19 · MEETING · New Hanover County, North Carolina — New Hanover County Board of Commissioners considers action on Flock AI surveillance cameras deployed in county parks (deflockilm.org)
Mon Oct 19 · MEETING · Springfield, Massachusetts — Springfield City Council considers ordinance to end contract with Flock Safety for first reading (MassLive)
Mon Oct 19 · MEETING · Tulsa, Oklahoma — Tulsa Police Department holds a public meeting on its use of Automated License Plate Reader technology (News On 6)
Speech & Press
- The 6th Circuit revived a lawsuit against officials who impounded a sound truck. (Reason)
- A Buckley Institute poll finds 40% of college students back prosecuting offensive speech. (The College Fix)
- California bill requires employers with five or more employees to add anti-hate training. (Fox News)
Useful
Attending a protest — What your phone gives away at a demonstration and how to carry it so it gives away less.
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