4th Amendment Privacy: Exquisite Data & Abuse of Power #shorts

Our Take

Credit to Drew Ribar for surfacing this moment: a former special counsel reaching for Fourth Amendment language and Watergate comparisons to describe what happens when government power and sensitive data collection go unchecked. It's a short clip, but the framing matters — "exquisite data" and "abuse of power" aren't abstractions reserved for high-profile investigations. They describe exactly the kind of surveillance infrastructure that now sits on ordinary streets and parking lots.

Flock Safety's ALPR cameras generate the same kind of granular, time-stamped movement data that courts and lawmakers have historically treated with suspicion when it comes to government overreach — except this version doesn't require a warrant, a subpoena, or a Jack Smith to flag it. It's logged automatically, retained for weeks, and shared across agencies and states with little public oversight. If officials can debate Fourth Amendment limits over one investigation, the public deserves the same scrutiny applied to a nationwide camera network quietly tracking millions of daily commutes.

Watergate became a byword for abuse of power because someone eventually asked who was watching, and why. That question applies just as much to the cameras parked at the end of your street. Check our map to see what's been deployed near you, and visit our take-action page if you want to push back.