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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCities are taking a surprising step to avoid feeding info to Trump's ICE: report
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-ice-2676969275/Cities are taking a surprising step to avoid feeding info to Trump's ICE: report
Matthew Chapman
May 28, 2026 7:14PM ET
Cities contracting with Flock Safety to run networks of license plate reader cameras are growing increasingly alarmed about the company's involvement with the Trump administration's mass deportation schemes, to the point that some are now covering their own cameras in trash bags, a new report revealed.
According to 404 Media, one city bagging up its cameras is Dayton, Ohio, which followed "months of resident outrage, a scandal in which the city was sharing Flock camera data for immigration enforcement, apparently by accident, and a $30,000 audit into how the cameras are being used." They had to bag the cameras rather than take them down outright because "police there are unsure whether the cameras are still active, and the city also doesnt seem to know whether it is allowed to take the cameras down."
This follows a similar move by the city of Evanston, Illinois, which, following media reports that "data from the cameras was making its way to Immigration and Customs Enforcement through Flocks national camera network," bagged up its cameras until Flock could uninstall them, said the report.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sounded the alarm on Flock, which they claim is building up the infrastructure for a "mass surveillance state" with its network of license plate readers that were sold to cities as a tool for public safety.
more cop tracked woman seeking an abortion
(Low tech pest control.)
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Cities are taking a surprising step to avoid feeding info to Trump's ICE: report (Original Post)
cbabe
Thursday
OP
johnnyfins
(4,050 posts)1. This makes me laugh. The LAST thing Flock
Wants is for these cameras to be easily recognized by the public. The more stories like this, that include pictures, make everyday people more aware.
cbabe
(6,873 posts)2. Lawbreaking flock/Cities Are Blinding Flock Cameras By Covering Them With Trash Bags
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/cities-blinding-flock-cameras-covering-171450977.html
Cities Are Blinding Flock Cameras By Covering Them With Trash Bags
C. da Costa
Thu, May 28, 2026 at 10:14 AM PDT
Black trash bags fluttering over sleek surveillance cameras tell you everything about how smart city policing went sideways. In Dayton, Ohio, city workers are literally covering license plate readers with garbage bags because thats the only way officials can guarantee the devices arent secretly feeding data to federal immigration enforcement. This isnt some Luddite rebellion against technologyits what happens when cities discover they signed surveillance contracts that give them less control than a Netflix subscription.
The Accidental Data Pipeline to ICE
Daytons surveillance scandal exposes how easily local crime-fighting tools become immigration enforcement networks.
Dayton isnt alone in this digital quicksand. Evanston, Illinois terminated its Flock contract, only to discover the company had allegedly reinstalled cameras without permission. The city issued a cease-and-desist letter and covered cameras with trash bags while waiting for Flock to remove them.
more lawbreaking flock
Cities Are Blinding Flock Cameras By Covering Them With Trash Bags
C. da Costa
Thu, May 28, 2026 at 10:14 AM PDT
Black trash bags fluttering over sleek surveillance cameras tell you everything about how smart city policing went sideways. In Dayton, Ohio, city workers are literally covering license plate readers with garbage bags because thats the only way officials can guarantee the devices arent secretly feeding data to federal immigration enforcement. This isnt some Luddite rebellion against technologyits what happens when cities discover they signed surveillance contracts that give them less control than a Netflix subscription.
The Accidental Data Pipeline to ICE
Daytons surveillance scandal exposes how easily local crime-fighting tools become immigration enforcement networks.
Dayton isnt alone in this digital quicksand. Evanston, Illinois terminated its Flock contract, only to discover the company had allegedly reinstalled cameras without permission. The city issued a cease-and-desist letter and covered cameras with trash bags while waiting for Flock to remove them.
more lawbreaking flock
harumph
(3,435 posts)3. well aimed paintballs...just saying