By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-07 18:06:40 | Updated at 2026-08-07 20:04:20
3 hours ago
The Free Press is drawing criticism after defending Flock Safety’s growing network of license plate readers while dismissing concerns that the surveillance technology infringes on Americans’ constitutional privacy rights.
The criticism stems from a post on X by the outlet, founded by journalist Bari Weiss, that sought to reassure readers about the cameras.
“Ever feel like you’re being watched? You might be right,” the outlet wrote. “But Flock Safety cameras aren’t interested in you—unless you’re a kidnapper, a thief, or up to no good.”
In a video accompanying the post, Free Press reporter Maya Sulkin also omitted several key facts about the technology that were later highlighted in an X Community Note.
More than 110,000 Flock Safety cameras have been installed in thousands of communities across the U.S., sparking growing grassroots resistance.
The cameras are automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that photograph every passing vehicle, regardless of whether its driver is suspected of a crime. In addition to license plates, they record distinguishing features such as bumper stickers, roof racks, and dashboard items. (RELATED: ROOKE: Surveillance State Has Arrived, And Masked Heroes Are Already Fighting Back)
Flock’s surveillance capabilities extend beyond photographs. The company’s technology can collect Bluetooth and Wi-Fi identifiers from nearby devices and associate that information with a vehicle’s location, creating a searchable database of movement data that participating law enforcement agencies can access.
All of this is possible without a warrant.
“Automatic license plate readers allow the government to assemble a detailed record of people’s movements, with minimal effort and without any requirement of prior suspicion. This search-first, justify-later model amounts to dragnet surveillance, and it poses a serious threat to Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights,” Andreia Trifoi, Staff Attorney at the New Civil Liberties Alliance, told the Caller.
Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Daily Caller that the vast network of Flock cameras “creates a dangerous chilling effect on the exercise of people’s constitutional rights.”
“Even if a person is not violating the law, the threat of this constant, ever-present surveillance could make people afraid to lawfully exercise their rights of freedom of speech, religion, and association,” Marlow said.
“It doesn’t matter which company has its creepy cameras in your neighborhood, they all have the same problems: a lack of transparency, oversight, and regulation into how they collect, store, and use our data, and how to hold public and private actors accountable if they abuse it,” he continued.
“That’s why lawmakers must put protections in place now if they choose to allow ALPRs to be used at all.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. surveillance industry is booming and mainly driven by new Artificial Intelligence technologies.
“The United States video surveillance industry is undergoing a significant technological transformation, driven by the integration of advanced analytics and AI surveillance capabilities,” a January report from Mordor Intelligence said.
“The emergence of sophisticated surveillance technology solutions has expanded beyond traditional security applications into business intelligence and operational efficiency tools.”
Mordor Intelligence estimates that the industry’s market size will grow to over $27 billion by 2031. The market size already increased in 2026 compared to 2025, growing from $13.86 billion to $15.53 billion, according to the report.
The report also noted that surveillance technology has “expanded significantly” across the retail and banking industries as well as the transportation sector.
As banks use “advanced electronic surveillance systems to combat security threats,” retailers are targeting their own customers, “leveraging video analytics for both security and customer behavior analysis,” the report found.
