ALPR

Big Brother is tracking us. They tracked us to the No Kings rallies. State laws limiting access to the ALPR... screw them... we're the feds and we can do what we want!

How Cops Are Using Flock Safety's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters and Activists

The Electronic Frontier Foundation

By Dave Maass and Rindala Alajaji

November 20, 2025

It's no secret that 2025 has given Americans plenty to protest about. But as news cameras showed protesters filling streets of cities across the country, law enforcement officers—including U.S. Border Patrol agents—were quietly watching those same streets through different lenses: Flock Safety automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that tracked every passing car. 

Through an analysis of 10 months of nationwide searches on Flock Safety's servers, we discovered that more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies ran hundreds of searches through Flock's national network of surveillance data in connection with protest activity. In some cases, law enforcement specifically targeted known activist groups, demonstrating how mass surveillance technology increasingly threatens our freedom to demonstrate.

This is what totalitarian governments do, governments like Russia, North Korea, and China do!

During the October No Kings rally police departments used ALPRs to track peaceful protesters in Illinois, Arizona, and Tennessee!

2025 was an unprecedented year of street action. In June and again in October, thousands across the country mobilized under the banner of the “No Kings” movement—marches against government overreach, surveillance, and corporate power. By some estimates, the October demonstrations ranked among the largest single-day protests in U.S. history, filling the streets from Washington, D.C., to Portland, OR. 

EFF identified 19 agencies that logged dozens of searches associated with the No Kings protests in June and October 2025. In some cases the "No Kings" was explicitly used, while in others the term "protest" was used but coincided with the massive protests.

Law Enforcement Agencies that Ran Searches Corresponding with "No Kings" Rallies

Anaheim Police Department, Calif.

Arizona Department of Public Safety

Beaumont Police Department, Texas

Charleston Police Department, SC

Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Fla.

Georgia State Patrol

Lisle Police Department, Ill.

Little Rock Police Department, Ark.

Marion Police Department, Ohio

Morristown Police Department, Tenn.

Oro Valley Police Department, Ariz.

Putnam County Sheriff's Office, Tenn.

Richmond Police Department, Va.

Riverside County Sheriff's Office, Calif.

Salinas Police Department, Calif.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, Calif.

Spartanburg Police Department, SC

Tempe Police Department, Ariz.

Tulsa Police Department, Okla.

US Border Patrol

Big brother is watching!

Just looking at the list what is see is a majority of the states are Republican controlled, only three states are Blue. And many law enforcement officers ignore state laws...

 Some agencies have adopted policies that prohibit using ALPRs for monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment. Yet many officers probed the nationwide network with terms like "protest" without articulating an actual crime under investigation.

We can't put it ARLPs back in the box. But can definitely end this abuse and invasion of privacy!

And once again, this network can be used by states to track trans people as they get their needed healthcare form trans friendly states. Or women with say, Texas license plate around women's clinics.