Flock-style ALPR systems carry serious privacy and civil-liberties risks, and the backlash is now starting to show up in agency decisions too.
For those not yet familiar with Flock, Flock Safety operates an automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system that uses cameras and computer vision to identify and log vehicle license plates.
According to ACLU.org, in the US there are currently:
“80,000–100,000 Flock cameras in both urban and rural areas on highways, in neighborhoods, and outside your local hardware store.”
Automated license plate readers were sold as a crime-fighting tool, but growing evidence suggests the privacy and accountability problems surrounding Flock are becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss. A growing number of incidents now show the same pattern: broad surveillance, shaky oversight, and enough operational risk to create real harm for ordinary people.
