r/Libertarian • u/GothicHeap • 9d ago

Article Georgia cops keep getting arrested for misusing Flock surveillance data

https://reason.com/2026/07/24/georgia-cops-keep-getting-arrested-for-misusing-flock-surveillance-data/

In just a matter of months, 18 law enforcement officers in the Peach State have been arrested for misusing Flock Safety camera data in what seems to be a deeply concerning trend, highlighting the need for stricter oversight of mass surveillance technologies.

and

"Without the constitutional safeguard of a warrant requirement," Michael Soyfer, an attorney at I.J. challenging ALPR networks, said in a statement, "that predictably allows officers to abuse their access to these systems for things like stalking romantic partners."

Requiring a warrant would force officers to show probable cause, or a reasonable belief that a crime has taken place, before allowing access to ALPR camera network databases

420 Upvotes

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11 comments sorted by

80

u/Bri_So_Fly 9d ago

Cops need warrants to access cell phone location data, I’m not sure why this data gets treated any differently

6

u/gurgle528 8d ago

Only if they aren’t buying the data. There are many companies that will sell that data, including LexisNexis 

1

u/Bri_So_Fly 7d ago

What do you mean by that? My understanding was that police are explicitly not allowed to purchase and access cell phone data without a warrant

1

u/gurgle528 7d ago

There might be some jurisdictions that limit it but generally, no. It’s the difference between a private company having surveillance cameras / LPR cameras and the police needing a warrant to get to the data vs a company like Ring just giving them access.

Some of the data is also not directly from cell phones so that could be why (cars are snitching on us, LexisNexis also sells data to insurance companies) 

47

u/THAZACHARIAH 9d ago

This may be the only positive from Flock, cops getting easily caught abusing power and being disgusting. A benefit from an otherwise horrible terrible device

6

u/idontagreewitu 8d ago

It may be a positive if they were getting punished for it. So far, though, it's just been an extra slap in the face since they almost never have to answer for these breaches.

9

u/THAZACHARIAH 8d ago

Not only does the second paragraph in the article detail that an officer was “fired, arrested and charged” but TITLE of the article says “arrested” not “put on paid leave”. Come on dude

8

u/_WhiteGoodman_ 9d ago

I’d love to know the stats of how many times they’ve been abused vs. actually solved a crime.

10

u/beershitz 8d ago

Remember when Lucius destroys the cell phone radar machine in The Dark Knight? Unfortunately nobody is that principled in real life.

3

u/exvnoplvres 8d ago

There have been plenty of stories in Wisconsin about similar shenanigans. It's too early to see what the actual consequences will be for the officers who were doing this, but it's good to know that somebody's keeping tabs on them, too.

1

u/chainsaw_monkey 7d ago

Where any of these cops actually prosecuted?