Crow's Nest
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 · The digital civil-liberties brief · View on the web
Madison County terminates its Flock Safety license-plate reader contract.
The Madison County sheriff terminated the department's contract with Flock Safety amid surveillance misuse investigations, though Now Georgia reports the cameras remain mounted. (Online Athens)
ANALYSIS Madison County Sheriff Drops Flock Cameras Amid Investigations into Surveillance Misuse (Now Georgia)
Top
- Siloam Springs directors vote to turn off Flock Safety license plate cameras. (khbs)
- Delhi Police buy eight anti-riot vehicles equipped with AI surveillance cameras. (Biometric Update)
- Bedfordshire Police deploy live facial recognition over 80 times across the county. (Bedford Independent)
- Essex Police will deploy live facial recognition vans able to scan covered faces. (Southend Echo)
- Fourth Circuit sets oral argument in remanded geofence warrant appeal. (Mealey's)
The pattern
Three law enforcement agencies fired staff for misusing license plate reader systems.
- Savannah police department members misused Flock system for personal purposes. (WTOC)
- Milton police fire a detective for using the Flock database to track his wife. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
- Macon County Sheriff's Office fires an employee for misusing license plate readers. (WLOS)
Under the radar
- Bloomington approves a $22 million Axon contract expanding Drone as First Responder units. (hometownsource.com)
Flock watch
- St. Johns County commissioners vote to revoke permits for Flock Safety readers. (News4JAX)
- Maries County terminates its Flock Safety contract after a vendor missed a meeting. (KOMU 8)
- Fairfax County police cut the number of people who can search plate data. (FOX 5 DC)
- Santa Monica City Council approves a $700,000 license plate reader agreement. (Patch)
- Flock Safety spent $360,000 on federal lobbying as scrutiny mounted. (Bloomberg Law News)
Surveillance & Privacy
- Clearview AI challenges the UK Information Commissioner penalty in Court of Appeal. (biometricupdate.com)
- Apple faces a class-action trial over claims its Photos app creates faceprints. (The Madison-St. Clair Record)
- Auburn police seek council funding for a permanent drone first-responder program. (Auburn Reporter)
- Dubai Police test autonomous robotic patrol vehicles equipped with facial recognition and lidar. (Guessing Headlights)
Coming Up
Wed Oct 21 · HEARING · Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma legislative interim study examines use of Flock surveillance cameras and privacy concerns (News On 6)
Wed Oct 21 · HEARING · Oklahoma City, OK — Oklahoma Senate holds an interim study examining Flock surveillance cameras and privacy concerns (News 9)
Wed Oct 21 · MEETING · Pocatello, Idaho — City hosts a public town hall on Flock license plate reader technology (Idaho State Journal)
Wed Oct 21 · MEETING · Pocatello, ID — City of Pocatello holds a town hall meeting on Flock license plate reader cameras (eastidahonews.com)
Wed Oct 21 · MEETING · Reno, NV — Reno City Council considers a new license-plate reader contract with a different vendor (KTVN)
Wed Oct 21 · VOTE · Delavan, WI — Delavan City Council makes final decision on removing or deactivating Flock license plate surveillance cameras (TMJ4)
Speech & Press
- The Marshall Project sues ICE to force disclosure of detainee names and locations. (themarshallproject.org)
- European leaders are justifying expanded speech controls as combatting disinformation. (Mises Institute)
- Mississippi will release surveillance footage of a fatal police shooting of a toddler. (WJTV)
Useful
Street-Level Surveillance — EFF's explainers on each police technology: what an ALPR, a drone, a cell-site simulator or a face recognition system actually does with your data.
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