AFK - ON SABBATICAL

9 Sept

Beginning Friday (9/11), I will begin a sabbatical from @lucyparsonslabs.com until ~January. The org will, of course, continue to operate without me. However, I will be reading, resting, cooking and doing whatever I want.

Today there is a bi-partisan hearing on ALPRs in Congress and I have a few thoughts. Like facial recognition, I think this is an important issue and (@lucyparsonslabs.com & friends) has been at the forefront of lots of research exposing the abuses. BUT.

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One failure of FRT is how lawmakers behave as if tech is too complex to regulate. It's also why tech companies push for things like federal data privacy laws, they know Congress doesn't work. But Congress regulates stuff all the time, they're not experts in clean air/water or monopolies either.

I've heard this argument, unconvincing about FRT harms that we focused too much on things like disparate racial impact I think that misses. We're the *victims* of an police system that allows any cop to install apps on any device for any reason to arrest anyone because a computer told me to.

We can't get around these abuses without confronting corporate power, shady business practices and that fact that police departments are completely undemocratic institutions. Following the 2020 protests for racial justice, Dems just decided to pour massive amounts of money into the police. 👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽

Like facial recognition tech, widespread anger and general creepy-ness was enough to warrant attention. I think unlike FRT, there are now larger formations, many autonomous, which are organizing against ALPRs.

2 Sept

We often get requests for how to get involved in the work LPL is doing. We are finally re-opening our volunteers process up. Let's meet-up on Discord on Sept 8th and talk.

wkrn.comMore than 100 detained during Memphis raid: Immigrant advocacy groupAn immigrant advocacy organization says more than 100 people were detained during an overnight federal law enforcement operation at a bar in Memphis’ Berclair neighborhood.

31 Aug

Anyone seriously thinking about president should be talking about abolitioning ICE *AND* amnesty and citizenship for everyone wrapped up by these programs.

WKRN News 2@wkrnnews2.bsky.social

More than 100 detained during Memphis raid: Immigrant advocacy group

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Haymarket Books

@haymarketbooks.org

30 Aug

Remembering Fred Hampton born Aug. 30, 1948, assassinated Dec. 4, 1969 by Chicago police and the FBI

chicago.suntimes.comFlock license plate readers turn Chicago suburbs into ground zero for bitter fight over surveillanceCops have been accused of tapping into Flock's sprawling network to stalk people, while activists have been charged with vandalizing the company's cameras. But as some municipalities have jettisoned t...

28 Aug

I talked to the Sun-Times yesterday about Flock cameras and their controversy and the police said it’s been helpful for DV and stalking type cases. (I don’t think that talking point lands the way they want it to.) chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0...

Steve Held@peoplesfabric.bsky.social

that’s a lot of times but don’t worry about abuse y’all, after 10,000 violations of policy, they caught him

28 Aug

Police: we need flock cameras to help US find the creeps and perverts who stalk their ex-girlfriends. Also police: sooooo, it happened again, one of our cops was arrested for being a creep.

“Sorry our right wing billionaires got you addicted to drugs. Have a camera.” bsky.app/profile/hype...

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chicagoreader.comInside the Chicago Police Department’s secret budget - Chicago ReaderEvery year, police take millions of dollars from ordinary Chicagoans and spend it behind closed doors.

The war on drugs has always been used to justify surveillance budgets. In fact, civil asset forfeiture funds were used to fund the first ALPRs in Chicago. (We wrote about it here with @redshiftzero.bsky.social for the Reader) chicagoreader.com/news/inside-...

donorbox.orgHelp LPL Investigate Flock | Lucy Parsons Labs (Powered by Donorbox)Lucy Parsons Labs is organizing against ALPR technologies and we need your help to continue this work. LPL is building coalitions, strengthening research and helping organizers around the country take...

I talk a lot about how much I hate Flock (for good reason) but did you know you can help @lucyparsonslabs.com continue to investigate these companies? We are a engine of change and you can help pour gas into our tank to take these companies on. donorbox.org/lpl-alpr-fund

nyti.msHe Thought He Destroyed a Flock Camera, but It Was a Decoy, Police SayA Florida man is facing three felony charges over the Aug. 20 vandalism of a plastic reproduction of one of the automated license plate readers, the authorities said.

these things are so unpopular that police are putting up fake cameras to try to entice people to smash them.

The New York Times@nytimes.com

A Florida man is facing three felony charges over the vandalism of a plastic reproduction of a Flock camera, the authorities said. The novel case has drawn scrutiny to the tactics of the police who put up the decoys.

25 Aug

President Trump! We are getting ripped off my CANADIAN PODCAST equipment that we must tariff at 9000% IMMEDIATELY.

24 Aug

the State continues to disappear our neighbors across Chicago.

Andrew Thrasher@tituslegaldesign.com

A busy morning for ICE on Chicago's southwest side. Reports of arrests: - at the Home Depot off Western Ave. (BotY/Brighton Park) - the Stevenson (I-55) exit @ N. Damen (McKinley Park) - near 63rd & Pulaski (West Lawn)

chicagotribune.comAs Illinois debates rules for license plate readers, resistance grows in Lake County: ‘Pure violation of our Fourth Amendment’

21 Aug

Illinois has rules on the use of ALPRs: the problem is police and flock roundly break those rules. For example, it’s illegal to misuse police databases to stalk your ex.

Chicago Tribune@chicagotribune.com

As Illinois debates rules for license plate readers, resistance grows in Lake County: ‘Pure violation of our Fourth Amendment’

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Joey Scott

@joeyneverjoe.bsky.social

21 Aug

New from me: People returning to Altadena after the Eaton fires are noticing new, unwelcome additions to the landscape. It’s the 50 Flock cameras the company donated to the LA County Sheriff’s to combat “looting.” Except the dept didn’t tell the town officials or residents lataco.com/altadena-flo...

lataco.comAltadena Residents Haunted By Flock Cameras Installed After Deadly Fire ~ L.A. TACO“Altadena has spoken,” a resident says. “We don't want surveillance cameras. We don't want Flock replaced by another company's cameras."

Something I’ve pointed out to activists and elected officials now all across the country: ALPRs are not particularly sophisticated technical machines. It’s mostly a “solved” problem in computation. 1/2

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2/2 But what is true is that as hardware gets cheaper, more data is collected and gets cheaper to store etc. the way the vendors differentiate from each other is new “software features” that are incompatible with data security and guardrails. So guardrails become impossible to enforce.

So like drones with ALPRs that deploy automatically after a car crash by insurance corpos, ALPRs on drones with tasers attached, ALPR parking for your apartment building, ALPR repo man, you get the picture

Isn’t the head of the Chicago Park District a self described democratic socialist?

Block Club Chicago@blockclubchi.bsky.social

The Park District has installed mobile surveillance cameras to monitor the Ronan Park homeless encampment. blockclubchi.co/4g892Zd

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The Onion

@theonion.com

Democratic Socialism: Myth Vs. Fact https://theonion.com/democratic-socialism-myth-vs-fact/

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Dhruv Mehrotra

@dmehro.bsky.social

wired.comFlock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its CodeFlock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plate...

NEW: Flock has said for years its cameras don’t identify or track people. We obtained the code for its police AI and rebuilt parts of it. The tool can find witnesses, surface associates, search people by race or physical description, and flag vehicles by how they move. W/ @dell.bsky.social

boston25news.comStow police officer accused of misusing Flock system to track former partnerA Stow police officer is facing possible disciplinary action after the department found he repeatedly used police databases to obtain information about a woman he previously dated.

Quite literally, the way these low-cost surveillance technologies are being sold to police departments is “search, search, search,” “unlimited uses” etc. This is a downstream effect of their marketing and PR choices.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social

A woman who changed her identity following an abusive relationship with an officer says she discovered he used the Flock camera system to search for her location

404media.co'I Saw a Shiny Thing': Cop Explains Why He Used License Plate Reader to Stalk WomanBody camera footage shows police surveillance abuse is common: "We’ve told them over and over again: 'You see a hot chick, you don’t look them up in a database.'"

Yesterday I was on a panel about if there are good safeguards or legislation around ALPRs. Rep Dylan Wegela (MI House) said “yah but like stalking and misusing these databases is already illegal so…”

Sam Cole@samleecole.bsky.social

this couldn't be a more clear, textbook, beat-by-beat example of how women who've been stalked are talked to and treated by police, versus how their harassers are treated and spoken to by cops. add to that: her stalker WAS THE POLICE www.404media.co/i-saw-a-shin...

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Kashmir Hill

@kashhill.bsky.social

18 Aug

Interesting choice for the Zoom background by Flock's CEO

16 Aug

Stop emailing me! I do not wish to keep my account secure!!

16 Aug

I’ve seen a lot of comments about this online and it is not a resolution calling for the abolition of ICE. It’s the typical mealy talking points that talk out of both sides of the mouth. It also asks for a bunch of reforms which is typical of liberals who believe in institutions.

Michael Kapp@michaelkapp.com

BREAKING: the Democratic National Committee just unanimously approved a resolution calling for the abolition of ICE! After terrorizing our friends, families, and neighbors, ICE has no place in our nation. I'm grateful @democrats.org agreed. Now we're onto the hard work to make that happen!

wbez.orgHow do you feel about surveillance?As Flock cameras continue to crop up nationwide, we ask listeners if surveillance technologies make them feel safer.

13 Aug

Coincidentally, on public radio this morning, they asked me about these reforms. I pointed to the fact that police log reasons for searches as “aaaaa”: you can’t trust to self-patrol. www.wbez.org/say-more-wit...

Matthew Guariglia@mguariglia.bsky.social

I wrote about Flock’s announced “reforms”

wbez.orgHow do you feel about surveillance?As Flock cameras continue to crop up nationwide, we ask listeners if surveillance technologies make them feel safer.

13 Aug

Thanks to @WBEZ for having us on to talk about all issues surveillance. Lots of callers were very distrustful of Big Tech and we talked about (some) ways Flock has been caught breaking the law. www.wbez.org/say-more-wit...

13 Aug

Segment should be starting in about 20 minutes!

Lucy Parsons Labs@lucyparsonslabs.com

As long as nothing serious happens in the world (a big IF), we’ll be on WBEZ tomorrow morning talking about all about surveillance and talking to listeners. Dial in with questions!

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Matthew Guariglia

@mguariglia.bsky.social

12 Aug

The relationship between US law enforcement and companies that make messed up weapons and technology is really a "if you build it, they will come" scenario----the appetite for inflicting terror and pain grows and the companies step up to provide it.

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11 Aug

We've been suing the Chicago Police Department for 2 years and they still won't produce records. I was reading our latest motions in front of the judge and of course, we are citing our own (newest) rulings against CPD to ask for discovery on a separate issue.

10 Aug

Holy crap the richest tech company in the world needs to borrow half a TRILLION dollars to cover AI capex? 💀💀💀

Techmeme@techmeme.com

Sources: Apollo, Blackstone, BlackRock, KKR, and other financial groups are partnering with Nvidia on a $500B funding package for AI infrastructure development (Financial Times) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

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Kyle Cheney

@kyledcheney.bsky.social

10 Aug

NEW: We’ve spent a year tracking ICE’s massive expansion of detention for people with years-long ties to the U.S. It has strained courts, wrecked lives and been widely deemed illegal. Our report, based on interviews with judges, detainees and attorneys: www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

404media.coFlock Pitched a Plan To Turn Uber and Lyft Drivers Into Roaming Surveillance VehiclesA Flock presentation shows the company planned to use around 350,000 Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers to collect license plate data for its surveillance system.

7 Aug

I still have one human badge to give away for #DEFCON34. Come grab it from me and then join us tomorrow at our talk about Flock where I'll just be showing 404 media headlines and getting increasingly pissed off. www.404media.co/flock-pitche...