Crow's Nest
Monday, November 2, 2026 · The digital civil-liberties brief · View on the web
UK police deployed live facial recognition in London's Westminster and Croydon.
The UK Home Office announced it is deploying live facial recognition technology and metal detection systems in Westminster and Croydon as part of an intensified knife-crime campaign, Arbiterz reports. (Punch Newspapers)
Top
- Plymouth police unplugged Flock cameras after the council voted to end its contract. (theverge.com)
- Researchers tricked Flock automated license-plate readers by wrapping a car in adversarial patterns. (Hoodline)
- City of Sydney Council proposed upgrading its public CCTV network with artificial intelligence. (7NEWS)
- Sens. Adam Schiff and Ron Wyden demanded the declassification of a secret FISA Court ruling. (techdirt.com)
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill barring sales of precise location data. (Medical Daily)
The pattern
Three police forces are deploying, testing or evaluating mobile facial-recognition surveillance.
- Western Australia Police scanned 1,380,882 faces during a mobile facial recognition trial. (The Guardian)
- Merseyside Police unlawfully holds at least 300,000 overdue mugshots on Niche. (Liverpool Echo)
- Nottinghamshire Police will deploy a facial-recognition CCTV van for Bonfire Night. (West Bridgford Wire)
Flock watch
Redwood City postpones selecting plate reader vendor until 2027 (San Mateo Daily Journal)
Richmond, Virginia impounded car on vague Flock search (Gadget Review)
Verra Mobility concealed ties to Flock Safety (New York Post)
Atlanta seeks surveillance oversight after audit (Oregon Live)
Lockport Common Council votes to remove all Flock cameras (WHEC.com)
Surveillance & Privacy
- UK retailers use facial recognition that falsely flags shoppers for theft. (Futurism)
- GM agrees to a $220 million settlement over allegations it sold driver location data. (www.theepochtimes.com)
- Paradise Valley collects nearly $3 million annually from automated photo enforcement cameras. (AZ Central)
- Hacktivists breached 41,000 DHS personnel files and released contacts for ICE staff. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Coming Up
Mon Nov 2 · DEADLINE · Alexandria, VA — Alexandria Police Department conducts an internal self-audit to confirm cameras are no longer reading plates (FOX 5 DC)
Mon Nov 2 · DEADLINE · Redwood City, California — Deadline for the city to respond to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury report on automated license plate readers (Redwood City Pulse)
Mon Nov 2 · DEADLINE · Pacifica, CA — Pacifica must submit its formal response to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury report on automated license plate readers (Coastside News)
Mon Nov 2 · DEADLINE · Redwood City, CA — Statutory deadline for Redwood City to submit its formal response to the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury report on ALPR use (patch.com)
Mon Nov 2 · TAKES EFFECT · Switzerland — Switzerland begins issuing new optional biometric identity cards with facial and fingerprint data (biometricupdate.com)
Mon Nov 2 · TAKES EFFECT · Utah — Utah begins enforcing age-verification mandate against adult content websites (ABC 4)
Speech & Press
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called to ban online anonymity. (Reason)
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law banning 12 AI companion features. (22 News WWLP)
- Licensed broadcast stations are barred from censoring candidate campaign ads. (ArcaMax)
Useful
Restore the Fourth — A nonpartisan group organized around the Fourth Amendment, with local chapters that show up at council meetings.
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