Explained: You are being watched
Explained: You are being watched
- Thu, Aug 20 2026 at 1:00 PM
Mark,
Take a close look at the next streetlight you see: It may be host to a bristling array of cameras designed to automatically read license plates of nearby cars — and monitor the everyday activities of passersby.
A shadowy tech company called Flock Group Inc. has struck license-plate reading camera contracts with 7,000 law-enforcement agencies, accounting for 40 percent of such departments nationwide. There are more than 130,000 of these cameras deployed across the country, likely at a busy intersection or gathering point near you.
The other day, I took a walk through New York City’s Union Square, a popular open plaza with more than 150 years of history as a site for political gatherings and demonstrations. Now, thanks to a partnership between the NYPD and Silicon Valley, this urban epicenter for free speech and protest is another example of the growing surveillance state. Surveillance cameras ring the Manhattan park — monitoring the movements of everyone there.
Whether you’re running errands around your own town or attending a local No Kings protest, odds are that law enforcement has recorded and archived your activities for future reference.
If that’s not disturbing enough, there have also been reports of police officers abusing this surveillance technology to stalk romantic interests1 or throw innocent people in jail based on an inaccurate license-plate reading or biometric scan.2 Adding to this country’s long history of racist policing practices, facial-recognition technology has an especially alarming track record when it comes to identifying people of color.3
That hasn’t stopped mass surveillance from becoming a multibillion-dollar industry:- Tech bros are pushing AI-enabled facial-recognition technology for real-time threat detection (think Minority Report).
- Local police departments4 and immigration agencies5 are buying Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses in bulk.
- Amazon is chasing multimillion-dollar contracts6 to provide data storage and analytics — including more than $250 million from the Department of Homeland Security to host the systems used to track, monitor and deport immigrants.
As more cameras sprout up in more locations, the movement to oppose such government spying is spreading. Dozens of cities across the country have cut ties with Flock over data-privacy concerns. Free Press has joined DeFlock, an anti-surveillance activist group, in a national week of action to oppose automated license-plate readers and other mass surveillance technology.
The pushback against local surveillance cameras is occurring alongside the fast-spreading movement to stop the unchecked construction of data centers. There’s a common culprit in both popular movements: The unholy alliance between Big Tech and government.
As the billionaire class pushes the rapid, reckless development of advanced AI and surveillance tools against the wishes of impacted communities, it’s up to us to push back.
Read more about our work to stop mass surveillance at the Solidarity Over Surveillance website — and join us in the fight.
In solidarity,
Tim and the rest of us at Free Press1. “Police Have Reportedly Used License Plate Readers to Stalk Romantic Interests Dozens of Times in Recent Years,” Institute for Justice, April 27, 2026
2. “More Than a Dozen Wrongful Arrests Due to Police Reliance on Facial Recognition Technology,” ACLU, April 14, 2026
3. “Facial Recognition Technology Discriminates Against People of Colour,” The Guardian, Aug. 8, 2025
4. “Florida Cops Are Quietly Using Meta Smart Glasses,” Miami New Times, Aug. 6, 2026
5. “Immigration Agents are Using Meta’s AI Glasses — and Critics are Alarmed,” The Independent, March 12, 2026
6. “Big Tech Goes to War,” Free Press, Feb. 25, 2026
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