Tesla Cam & License Plate Readers: Are We Being Watched? #shorts

Our Take

Fat Meech's quick hit lands on something we harp on constantly: surveillance isn't one big spooky government program, it's a thousand small cameras stitched together — your neighbor's doorbell, the Tesla behind you at a red light, and the Flock Safety ALPR bolted to a pole you never noticed. Each one feels harmless on its own. Together they build a record of where you've been, when, and how often, with no warrant and no notice.

What the video doesn't have time to get into — because it's a #shorts, not a policy brief — is who actually controls that pole-mounted camera and where the data goes. That's the part we focus on. Flock's ALPR network quietly logs plates for local police departments and, in many cases, shares access across jurisdictions and with federal agencies, all without the driver ever being suspected of a crime.

If a clip like this makes you want to know whether your own street has one of these cameras, check our map to see what's already deployed near you, and head to our take-action page if you want to push back on it.