The Growing Threat of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) Livestream
The short version: ACLU-CT's livestream lays out how Flock's ALPR network compounds harm for over-policed communities and anyone seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care.
Our Take
ACLU-CT put together something we don't see nearly enough of: a genuine coalition conversation, not a press release. Bringing Connecticut for All, Make the Road CT, and 1199 into the same room to talk ALPRs signals that this isn't an abstract civil-liberties hobbyhorse — it's a labor issue, an immigration issue, a reproductive-rights issue, and a racial-justice issue all at once, because that's exactly how dragnet surveillance actually functions once it's deployed.
The throughline of their argument is one we keep hammering on: Flock's pitch is always "finding the bad guy," but the infrastructure doesn't discriminate between a stolen-car alert and a person driving to an out-of-state clinic or a Pride event. Once a camera logs your plate, that record can travel through data-sharing agreements to agencies with very different priorities than the ones who installed it. Connecticut lawmakers and residents deserve a real accounting of who has access, how long data sits in the system, and what recourse exists when it's misused — not vendor talking points.
Credit to ACLU-CT for turning this into a public forum instead of a closed-door briefing. If you want to see whether these cameras have already shown up on your street, check our map, and if you're in Connecticut or anywhere else watching this fight unfold, our take-action page has next steps for pushing back.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut (ACLU-CT), published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.