Welcome to today’s daily update for Saturday, September 12, 2026. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Breakdown
States have ordered the removal of Flock cameras, which make up extensive surveillance networks across various United States cities, amid a recent wave of backlash against the way these cameras are used by authorities.
Flock cameras, built by Flock Safety, is an AI-powered automated license plate reader (ALPR) that records the details of every vehicle that passes it. This data is uploaded to a network that remains private between agencies, but Flock highly encourages the connecting of these electronic databases.
For example, police departments in New York City and Florida have separate Flock databases, but Flock’s opt-in to sharing feature allows these two departments to share data on the vehicles that pass the cameras. However, all data is deleted after 7 to 30 days, depending on whether it is flagged or not.
Overall, there are an estimated 120,000 Flock cameras across the United States, spanning 6,000 communities in 49 states. The company was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 2017, and the widespread installation of Flock cameras across police departments began around 2020.
In recent months, an intense debate has risen over these Flock cameras as allegations of misuse emerge. Several police officers across the states of Florida, Georgia, and Texas were found to have misused the databases to track down romantic interests or stalk girlfriends and ex-wives.
According to studies by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), several agencies were found to have made racially motivated or biased searches based on existing prejudices and stereotypes, while other tracking was targeted towards activists.
Others have confirmed that Flock’s AI is simply unreliable. An investigation during a federal class-action lawsuit in California found that more than 70% of Flock’s flagged license plates were actually just misread numbers or letters, leading to aggressive stops against innocent civilians.
Furthermore, others have argued against the idea of constant surveillance – with such a high concentration of Flock cameras in cities like Atlanta, which have over 5,000 of them, citizens are surveilled almost everywhere they go. Some claim that this is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prevents against unreasonable searches and requires a warrant and probable cause in order to track someone or obtain data regarding their location and behavioral patterns.
However, others have fiercely defended the Flock cameras, arguing that they are crucial to preventing crime. Flock cameras instantly scan license plates and connect them to a database that can identify stolen cars in a matter of minutes, alongside retrospectively identifying cars that were at the site of a crime scene after the incident has already occurred.
Homeowner associations (HOAs) also use Flock for neighborhood security, helping prevent against break-ins and trespassing. According to Flock Safety, 10,000 missing people were found and rescued with the assistance of Flock in 2025, alongside its help in more than one million different criminal investigations.
Additionally, Flock recently announced a new initiative to track user data on the other end of the system as well, forcing the AI to flag suspicious behavior from officers.
Nevertheless, critics of the system are not satisfied, and they are advocating for the complete takedown of these surveillance systems. Videos mocking, covering, vandalizing, or even destroying Flock cameras have gone viral on social media, and mass protests have taken place against the mass surveillance – and they are making progress.
After several confirmed counts of police misuse, the Florida Department of Transportation agreed to take down all Flock cameras along state highways, and more than half of Florida counties are doing the same on smaller roads. Towns in other states, like Tennessee and Wisconsin, are also canceling contracts with Flock Safety amid the backlash.
However, some have highlighted a key development – some cities are ditching Flock Safety to appease activists while installing new automated license plate readers from other companies. One of the corporations fueling this change is Axon, another ALPR manufacturer that produces police technology like Tasers. Several cities are in talks to switch vendors to install Axon license plate readers while canceling contracts with Flock, angering anti-Flock activists.
The Global Snapshot
Saudi Arabia has shut down a crucial oil pipeline crossing through Iraq as the Houthis extend their control over the Red Sea, further endangering global shipping as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies once again. Yemen’s Houthi rebels now control the majority of the nation’s coast along the Red Sea, and Saudi Arabia has raised concerns over being bordered by terrorist-controlled nations on multiple sides. Now, the nation has shut down the East-West pipeline after it was attacked by Iranian proxies in Iraq via a drone attack, pushing oil towards $110 a barrel.
Members of Britain’s Parliament ruled against a bill that would have legalized assisted dying in the United Kingdom – a landmark move against a major Labour Party proposition. Assisted dying is a medical option where doctors can prescribe a life-ending medication to a terminally ill person, but they must be able to choose to do so of their own accord. The issue is of major debate, with some claiming that assisted dying saves the terminally ill from months or even years of suffering. Meanwhile, others argue that killing a person is morally and inherently wrong, regardless of the factors behind the decision.
Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): On average, 97 chickens are killed every 0.05 seconds worldwide. This equals 1,940 chickens per second, translating over to around 61 billion chickens per year.
Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The only thing that separates success from failure is one last attempt. Try one more time and you will get lucky. (Apoorve Dubey)
Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Patina (noun, puh-TEE-nuh) - A patina is a usually green film that forms on copper and bronze that is exposed to moist air for an extended time. The word patina can also refer to a shiny or dark surface that over time forms naturally on something (such as wood or leather), or to a literal or figurative thin layer.
In a Sentence: The town erected a statue in her honor, which over the years developed a seafoam green patina.
Image: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
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