We are suing Palantir? Think surveillance cameras are only about safety?

Our Take

"You Awake Yet?" raises a question we keep coming back to: license plate readers were sold to the public as a traffic-safety tool, but the real story is what happens to the data after your plate gets scanned. When a company like Palantir — built on data fusion and government contracting — enters the picture, "public safety" starts looking more like a pipeline feeding a much bigger analytics machine, one most city councils never fully vetted before signing the contract.

That's the core problem with Flock-style ALPR networks: the cameras are the visible part, but the real power sits in who can query the database, how long records are kept, and which agencies or private partners get access down the line. A lawsuit over Palantir's involvement is exactly the kind of accountability moment that should be happening in every city that quietly approved a camera grid without asking those questions first.

We can't verify every claim in the video, but the underlying concern is legitimate and worth watching closely as it develops. If you want to see how dense this surveillance net already is where you live, check our camera map, and if your town hasn't had this debate yet, our take-action page has the tools to start it.