Senator Katie Muth speaks out aginst data centres
The short version: A Pennsylvania state senator's pushback on data center buildouts spotlights the physical infrastructure that stores and processes surveillance data like ALPR scans.
Our Take
This clip, shared by the Digital ID, Mass Surveillance and Digital Currency channel, features Pennsylvania State Senator Katie Muth raising concerns about the rapid expansion of data centers in her state. We don't have the full transcript in front of us, so we won't put words in her mouth, but the broader point lands: these facilities aren't abstract tech infrastructure, they're the physical backbone that stores, processes, and often monetizes the flood of data generated by modern surveillance tools, including license plate reader networks like Flock Safety's.
Every Flock camera bolted to a pole somewhere in America is quietly feeding a pipeline that terminates in server racks owned by someone, often a private company with minimal public oversight and a business model built on data retention. When local officials debate zoning for a new data center, they're frequently debating the storage capacity for exactly the kind of location tracking that ALPR systems generate nightly. That connection rarely gets made in local news coverage, which is why it's worth amplifying voices like Muth's who are at least asking questions about what's being built and why.
If you want to see what's already watching your own neighborhood, check out our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for a state senator to notice, our take-action page has concrete steps for pushing back locally.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Digital ID, Mass Surveillance and Digital Currency, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.