Florida Governor DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott deal a Blow to Controversial Flock Cameras so do more and more cities. Really!

Bad news! This was probably a stupid decision by both governors Were they giving in to some populism and some social media pressure?

It very much looks like a government overreaction!

I blogged here recently about the phony Flock camera controversy.

"Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., notified local law enforcement that automated license plate recognition systems, such as Flock cameras, can no longer be used on the State Highway System. ..."

"... The decision comes days after Florida governor Ron DeSantis called the license plate reading technology “out of control” [???] in remarks during a press conference last Wednesday. ..."

"... similar action by Texas, which last week ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras. Texas governor Greg Abbott’s office cited abuse of the surveillance system, including the recent indictment of a Lufkin, Texas police officer with 100 felony counts related to allegedly searching Flock’s database to track people without authorization. ..."

"New data compiled by a Bay Area anti-surveillance advocacy group shows that not only are American localities dropping cameras from Flock Safety, but they are doing it at an accelerating rate.

Communities from Lansing, Michigan, to Pflugerville, Texas, are ending their relationship with Flock, largely over concerns regarding out-of-control surveillance, unwanted data sharing, high expenses, and reports of police abusing the tool. ..."

DeSantis Deals Blow to Controversial Flock Cameras

Florida and Texas move to block Flock cameras over privacy concerns

Cities terminate Flock contracts at record pace in August

When individual privacy protection collides with the public's interest to know (about e.g. infectious diseases)

Were these two individuals e.g. illegal immigrants or e.g. from the Amish community? If from the Amish community, how did these two individuals get infected with measles?

Currently, public debates about the pros and cons of vaccination have become more common since the beginning of the second term of President Trump.

"... marking the first U.S. measles deaths in 2026 ..."

"... Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness. We want to ensure every Pennsylvanian has the information they need to protect themselves [???], their loved ones and their communities. As a physician, I want to make sure that people understand that the MMR vaccine is safe and provides the best protection we have against measles.”

DOH confirmed both individuals were unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County. To protect the privacy of the individuals and their families,"

Pennsylvania Department of Health Confirms Two Measles-Associated Deaths | Department of Health | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania "The deaths mark the first losses related to the highly contagious virus in Pennsylvania in 35 years."

Credits: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Global Health NOW

What is the controversy about Flock cameras?

Update of 8/14/2026: The company behind Flock is already responding. "Flock Sets New Safeguards in Face of Backlash

Flock Safety, the company behind more than 120,000 license plate cameras nationwide, announced sweeping reforms Thursday [8/13/2026] following a bipartisan backlash over mass surveillance and police misuse of its network. The biggest change: Images will now be deleted after seven days instead of 30. [This is an extremely short period. Need to be raised.]

By the end of 2026, [police?] officers must attach a case number to every search, and a system that flags abnormal activity becomes mandatory, locking users out until an administrator reviews. ..." (The Flyover)

I have been noticing for some time that Flock cameras (aka automated license plate readers (ALPRs)) have become news items and subject of debates/controversies/vandalism etc.

I suspect with the help of machine learning and computer vision these systems have become quite capable over the last 10 years or so.

Do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages/harms? As a classical liberal, I would tend to say yes at this time.

Probably, these cameras make unruly, aggressive or drunk drivers behave better. Thereby saving lives. E.g. in residential communities these cameras may make e.g. non resident drivers (deliveries, visitors etc.) more cautious.

Probably, these data can be essential tools for law enforcement to e.g. more quickly solve crimes and catch criminals or frequent offenders and so on.

Of course, the use of those data require substantial oversight to prevent abuse, misuse, or innocent individuals getting suspected etc.!

Another issue would be how strict or aggressive law enforcement is based on these data. A matter for legislators and the executive branch to handle.

According to Google Search:
"Flock cameras are automated license plate reading (ALPR) and vehicle surveillance systems made by Flock Safety.

They capture images of passing cars, logging the license plate, make, model, color, and unique features like bumper stickers or dents, and store this data in a searchable network used by law enforcement, businesses, and HOAs [homeowner associations, residential communities].

How Flock Cameras Work

Data Capture: Solar- or battery-powered cameras snap photos of every vehicle passing in public view, recording time, direction, and specific vehicle characteristics.
Cloud Database: The images and metadata upload to a cloud network that allows police to search vehicle tracking data across multiple jurisdictions.
Retention Limits: Data is typically set to auto-delete after 30 days by default, unless flagged for an active investigation. ..."

Here is one of the latest, respective news articles that triggered my curiosity/attention to this subject:
College student accused of destroying Flock cameras — and the community comes out in droves to defend him | Blaze Media

Why not more online facial age estimation to distinguish children from adults?

I bet the technology could be improved!

As a safeguard, facial age estimation ought to be clearly separated from personal identification or login requirements! This could be achieved by e.g. third party providers who do nothing else but facial age estimation.

There are other means of age verification available too in the digital age. Why is e.g. my Google account not age verified! Google are you paying attention!

I bet privacy concerns (like the article below) are overblown here! Why would a selfie video be necessary? Does not a close up photo of your eyes/face suffice.

For example, porn websites could use it to keep children away, but not adults.

"Online facial age estimation is moderately reliable for broad categories like telling adults from children, but it is imprecise for guessing exact numbers. Top algorithms from groups like the National Institute of Standards and Technology have a mean absolute error rate of about 2 to 3 years, making them much better than average human guesses, but still prone to error based on lighting, skin care, and camera quality." (Google Search)

"... However, this is quickly shifting a broad policy problem into a biometric one, where access to ordinary online services can depend on literally showing your face [???]. ...

While facial age estimation may offer platforms a convenient way to respond to youth online safety demands, that convenience comes with serious privacy costs. Required facial scans lower the baseline of privacy for everyone, especially teens, and create a regime where access to everyday social spaces depends on individuals surrendering sensitive information about their faces and, in many cases, their identities. ...

Meta’s implementation of Yoti, a digital identity and age assurance company, on Instagram and Facebook shows how this works.

If Instagram believes an account holder is under 18 years old and the user tries to change that, it can send that user to Yoti for analysis of a selfie video [???].Yoti then estimates whether the person appears to be over 18 and sends that result back to Meta.

Its tests have expanded across the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Japan, and similar flows have begun appearing on Facebook in Australia. Yoti also presents facial age estimation as part of a broader age assurance system that can include document-based checks, while highlighting that it estimates age rather than identifying the person. ..."

Protecting teens online shouldn't require mandatory facial scans for digital users "While facial age estimation offers a convenient way to respond to youth online safety demands, the tool comes with serious privacy costs [???]."

UK government scraps plans for digital ID cards after millions of Brits opposed

Good news! Some lovely British traditions and customs die hard!

Are we dealing with Luddites or do we need better personal privacy protections in the digital age?

Waw this digital ID scheme another one of those failures/blunders of previous PM Keir Starmer?

"The U.K.’s incoming prime minister Andy Burnham has confirmed the U.K. government is scrapping a controversial digital ID card scheme announced last year by the country’s previous leader. ...

The plan to roll out digital identity cards was introduced by the former prime minister Keir Starmer, who argued that state-issued IDs would crack down on migrants working illegally and would modernize access to government services. ...

Millions of Brits had opposed the plan for mandatory digital ID cards, leading to the second-largest public parliamentary petition on record, gathering close to 3 million signatures rejecting the plan. Critics said that the introduction of ID cards would enable surveillance. ..."

UK government scraps plans for digital ID cards after millions of Brits opposed | TechCrunch

Your health care data is for sale. Here’s how Big Pharma is using it.

Recommendable! Explains the subject quite well. An unusually long video for SAN on a single subject. At the end of the video, that it is not nefarious and may benefit the patient.

Google’s ad tools enable marketers to target sensitive and other user data

Nothing new! Google has been doing this for how many years?

Italy's Swift take down of TikTok, now DeepSeek over China, privacy concerns is in line with a decade-long history of Italian actions against latest technologies

Recommendable!

"... Italy was the first country to ban the app, but others have since followed suit, including Australia, India, Taiwan, and the U.S. Navy and the state of Texas. Other governments are reported to be mulling similar moves. ...

The country has long exhibited a deep-seated suspicion of unfamiliar or untested technologies. In 2023, Italy temporarily blocked OpenAI over privacy concerns and then last December it fined OpenAI about $16 million and ordered it to change policies. Going further back, the country’s regulators have a decade-long history of sanctioning U.S. Internet giants like Amazon, Apple, and Google. ..."

Swift take down of TikTok, now DeepSeek over China, privacy concerns led by likely unexpected Italy | Just The News

California Passes Law Protecting Brain Data with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Definitely food for thought!

Elon Musk's X targeted with nine privacy complaints after grabbing EU users' data for training Grok

Is this not part of the terms of use agreement between X/Twitter and its users  that published user data is fair game!

The EU appears to be obsessed with falling further behind in machine learning & AI! Insane!

"... Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), the watchdog that leads on oversight of X’s compliance with the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). ...
The nine complaints against X, which have been filed with data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, accuse it of failing this step by processing Europeans’ posts to train AI without obtaining their consent."

Elon Musk's X targeted with nine privacy complaints after grabbing EU users' data for training Grok | TechCrunch

Two U.S. Supreme Court justices secretly recorded by leftist journalist at a closed member-only event – the legal issues and what they mean for the rest of us

When was the last time you were secretly recorded?

Again, another left extremist intentionally violated the rules! Will this extremist ever be held accountable? Don't bet on it!

When the ends justify the means!

"Posing as a “Christian conservative” at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s members-only, black-tie gala, liberal journalist and filmmaker Lauren Windsor secretly recorded her conversations with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Alito’s wife, Martha-Ann Alito. The event on June 3, 2024, was not open to journalists. ...
the failure of U.S. law’s once-robust electronic surveillance legal framework embodied in the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, commonly referred to as the Wiretap Act, and state counterparts to keep pace in the era of smart devices. The weakened surveillance protections are coupled with the legislative failure to protect data privacy. ...

Electronic surveillance laws make it a crime to use a “device” to surreptitiously record or intercept communications, like email and oral conversation, without consent. Doing so, whether remotely or in person, is sometimes referred to as wiretapping or electronic eavesdropping. From the nature of Samuel and Martha-Ann Alito’s remarks, it appears they were unaware they were being recorded. So, did this undercover advocacy journalist violate wiretapping laws? ...

Because people routinely click “I agree” to the terms and conditions presented by smart devices and apps – which is often the only choice to use the device or app – in so doing, they consent to being tracked and recorded 24/7 by their own devices and apps. Smart devices listen at all times, ostensibly so the device can respond to user’s verbal queries or prompts, but it is also to collect communications and associated data. That data can then be analyzed, sold or traded in the data market for behavioral manipulation via targeted messaging or advertising. ..."

Supreme Court justices secretly recorded – the legal issues and what they mean for the rest of us

Supreme Court Historical Society

The extremist draped with the U.S. flag! What a sneer!

Colorado passes first US brain activity data privacy law

Is it perhaps too premature to pass such laws? It may curtail or delay opportunities, advances etc.

"US tech companies that make neurotechnology gadgets — such as the headband that aims to make you a better meditator — will soon face more restrictions in how they collect, store and sell people’s brain-activity data. On 17 April, Colorado passed the country’s first law protecting consumers’ neural privacy. Users will now have the right to prevent companies from selling their brain data or using it for advertising. “We just think that there should be some guardrails in place for people who aren’t intending to have their thoughts read,” says Colorado legislator Cathy Kipp. Privacy advocates praise the bill’s passage, but some private universities are concerned it will prevent them from using such technologies for research and teaching."

Nature Briefing

First law protecting consumers' brainwaves signed by Colorado governor

Firms Selling Brain Wave Data Face Setback in US State of Colorado with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! This seems to be a very hot topic: The sale of all kinds of personal data collected by the sensors from your many devices or cars etc..

What to do about nonconsensual deepfake porn?

Given today's technologies anybody (woman or men) could end up becoming the victim of a phony, but extremely genuinely looking public images or video  showing the person in compromising sexual scenes. Motivations for the creation of such porn vary and are plenty.

A case in point: Any day a deepfake pictures or a video of Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump could turn up on the Internet.

I have a feeling this will not be easy to defeat! However, here immediate censorship and removal is probably legitimate and possible. It is recommendable unless better alternatives are or become available.

These new tools to help protect our pictures from AI

Your web browsing habits may be less private than you think

I have little doubt that this is already widely applied! Is it being exploited or abused? Who is behind?

"... The concept is simple. Just as the ridges on a fingerprint are unique to an individual, so are the nuggets of information stored in your web browser. To make the web easier to navigate, your browser knows what device you’re using, its settings, and hundreds of other details. Analyzed together, these scraps of data can reveal your identity to third parties, allowing them to build a profile and track your movements from site to site. ..."

Your web browsing habits may be less private than you think | IBM Research Blog IBM researchers have uncovered a new form of fingerprinting that can bypass the privacy protections of major web browsers like Safari and Firefox to infer a user’s identity.

Möchten Sie, dass die Polizei Ihre Whatsapp-Chats und Handy-Fotos jederzeit kontrollieren darf? Erstmals in der Schweiz wird genau das geplant

Wie bitte!

Möchten Sie, dass die Polizei Ihre Whatsapp-Chats und Handy-Fotos jederzeit kontrollieren darf? Erstmals in der Schweiz wird genau das geplant Bei Polizei- und Strafverfolgungsbehörden wächst das Bedürfnis, auch ohne konkreten Tatverdacht in die Privatsphäre einzudringen. Der Kanton Thurgau will dabei besonders weit gehen. Juristen befürchten, das könnte die Arbeit der Ermittler sogar erschweren.

China’s souped-up data privacy laws deter researchers

Is China trying to isolate itself again from the rest of the world? What do the communists have to fear?

"Recently introduced restrictions on the flow of academic and health data from China are concerning researchers globally, who say the new rules, as well as the uncertainty surrounding them, are discouraging international collaborations with scientists in the country. Others, fearing that access to information could be stymied, are opting not to work on projects about China or its people.

The suite of regulations, which have been introduced gradually since 2021, includes cybersecurity assessments of personal information and genetic data sent overseas, and restrictions on the export of biotechnology know-how in CRISPR–Cas9 gene-editing technology, synthetic biology and crop breeding. China is also considering limits on the amount of human genetic data that can be sent to other countries. ..."

China’s souped-up data privacy laws deter researchers Recent regulations have strengthened Chinese data privacy, but are impinging on international research collaboration.

Wenn europäischer Datenschutz den medizinischen Fortschritt gefährdet

Sehr empfehlenswert und bedenkenswert! Die Spinnen die Europäer! Überzogener Datenschutz ist lebensgefährlich!

Ähnlicher Unsinn betrifft das Europäische precautionary principle (Siehe meinen blog post hier, hier)

"... Ein Fall hat sich in seiner Erinnerung eingebrannt. Er trug sich an der hauseigenen Klinik der NIH in Maryland zu. Dort wurde ein Patient mit Lymphdrüsenkrebs behandelt. Bewährte Therapien blieben erfolglos, seine einzige Chance war eine experimentelle Immuntherapie, für die eine Stammzellenspende benötigt wird. Die Ärzte fanden einen Treffer in einer deutschen Spenderdatei. Weil es sich bei der Therapie um ein Forschungsprojekt handelte, benötigten sie auch persönlich Informationen und Proben des potentiellen Spenders. Doch wegen der seit Mai 2018 geltenden europäischen Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO) durften diese Daten nicht an die amerikanische Behörde gelangen. Die deutsche Spendereinrichtung verweigerte die Zusammenarbeit. ..."

Wenn europäischer Datenschutz den medizinischen Fortschritt gefährdet Tausende medizinische Studien sind in den Vereinigten Staaten in Gefahr. Persönliche Informationen europäischer Teilnehmer dürfen aufgrund der EU-Datenschutz-Richtlinien nicht mehr nach Amerika fließen.