Federal judge calls Flock 'indiscriminate mass surveillance'

A federal judge in Oklahoma found that a sheriff’s deputy violated a woman’s Fourth Amendment rights by searching a private database of license-plate camera data without a warrant. The deputy searched the Flock Safety system after noting the vehicle’s out‑of‑state plate, used the platform’s historic location logs to justify stopping and searching the car, and then asserted discovery of 91 pounds of meth. Judge Sara Hill ruled the warrantless database search unlawful and ordered suppression of all evidence obtained after it as the fruit of a poisonous tree. The decision is not a binding national precedent but is among the first federal rulings treating a Flock search as unconstitutional.

The judge went beyond the individual stop to criticize the technology itself, saying passive, networked camera systems that record every passing vehicle and retain travel histories create constitutionally problematic, indiscriminate mass surveillance distinct from targeted cellphone-location cases like Carpenter. The ruling underscores a growing political and regulatory pushback: several states and localities have cut ties with automated license‑plate readers, Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed legislation to bar federal use, and the company’s CEO has publicly sought compromise while apologizing for misuse. Facing cancellations, the company has reportedly offered voluntary buyouts to employees.