I used the license plate recognition system to defeat - The United States.

Our Take

Creator TT Wang's video title alone is a gut-punch: if a single person can figure out how to manipulate or 'defeat' a nationwide network of automated license plate readers, that tells you everything about how fragile and poorly governed these systems actually are. ALPR networks like Flock Safety's are sold to cities as foolproof crime-fighting tools, but foolproof systems don't usually inspire videos about beating them.

We can't verify every technical claim in the video without more detail, but the broader point lines up with what we've been saying for a while — these camera networks are being deployed at a massive scale with little independent auditing, inconsistent data retention rules, and almost no public transparency about who can access the data or how. When a hobbyist can poke holes in the system, that's not a quirky internet stunt, it's a red flag for every police department and private company relying on this tech to track ordinary people's movements.

Whether you're a driver, a privacy advocate, or just someone who doesn't like the idea of a database quietly logging your daily commute, it's worth knowing where these cameras actually are. Check our camera map to see what's watching in your area, and if you want to push back on unchecked ALPR expansion in your town, our take-action page has concrete steps to get started.