Nikita Bier (of X) Demonetized Me Over Flock

Our Take

Loyal Moses says he got hit with demonetization right after posting a breakdown of how municipal vehicles are being turned into rolling ALPR scanners — and that the account move allegedly came from an X exec with a personal financial stake in Flock Safety. We can't independently verify every detail of his timeline, but the screenshots he kept are exactly the kind of receipts this beat runs on: when the people moderating 'free speech' platforms also hold equity in the surveillance companies being criticized, that's not a content policy problem, it's a conflict-of-interest problem, and the public deserves to know about it.

This is the pattern we keep seeing across the ALPR fight: it's never just about the cameras. It's about the money and access that flows to the people who install them, invest in them, and then get to decide what speech about them is allowed to reach an audience. Whether or not every allegation in this video holds up under scrutiny, the underlying dynamic — tech platforms with undisclosed financial ties to the surveillance vendors they cover — is worth every bit of attention Moses is giving it. Credit to him for documenting it in real time instead of letting the timeline quietly disappear.

If you want to see how far this network of plate readers actually reaches in your own neighborhood, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back locally, our take-action page has concrete steps for showing up at city council and demanding transparency before the next contract gets signed.