# Judicial tide may be turning against indiscriminate Flock mass surveillance

> Federal judge rules Flock license plate readers enable unconstitutional mass surveillance.
- Title: Judicial tide may be turning against indiscriminate Flock…
- Summary: Federal judge rules Flock license plate readers enable unconstitutional mass surveillance. A federal judge in Oklahoma says police need warrants to search…
- Keywords: flock, license plate readers, oklahoma, fourth amendment, mass surveillance, judicial decision, constitutional privacy, news, local, Judicial, tide, may
- Source: Chicago Sun-Times — https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2026/10/15/automated-license-plate-readers-flock-mass-surveillance-jacob-sullum
- Published: 2026-10-15T11:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: flock, license plate readers, oklahoma, fourth amendment, mass surveillance, judicial decision, constitutional privacy, news, local
## Judicial tide may be turning
Federal judge presses point that police perusal of traveling histories on demand can be constitutionally problematic.

> Federal judge presses the point that police perusal of our traveling histories on demand can be constitutionally problematic
## 144,000 Flock cameras nationwide
A nationwide network of more than 144,000 artificial intelligence-assisted cameras tracks innocent motorists billions of times each week.
## Flock Safety
State and federal courts have almost uniformly rejected constitutional challenges to automated license plate readers installed by companies such as Flock Safety.
## Oklahoma federal judge
U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill concluded this month that Flock cameras enable indiscriminate mass surveillance.
## Supreme Court precedent
In 1983, Supreme Court declared no reasonable expectation of privacy in movements from one place to another.
## Modern surveillance
Three decades later, courts say GPS tracking impinges on reasonable expectations of privacy by revealing sensitive historical whereabouts.
## Cellphone privacy
Supreme Court extended privacy protections to cell phone location data in recent decisions.
## Flock cameras
Flock license plate readers track all vehicles passing by network-connected cameras on demand.
## Oklahoma ruling
Judge Hill says freedom from persistent surveillance is a reasonable expectation in society.
## Outlier ruling
Hill’s decision is an outlier as nearly every court has rejected constitutional challenges to Flock cameras.
## California cases
Last month, California federal judge held Flock database searches are less extensive than cellphone location data.
## San Jose case
California state judge rejected challenge to San Jose’s Flock camera network.
## Pending lawsuits
Flock cameras face lawsuits in Wichita, Kansas and Norfolk, Virginia.
## What happens next
More judges may recognize perils of indiscriminate mass surveillance as Flock cameras multiply.
## Key takeaway

A federal judge in Oklahoma says police need warrants to search license plate reader data, challenging widespread use of AI cameras for mass surveillance.