Anti-Surveillance Mapmaker Refuses Flock Safety’s Cease and Desist Demand

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Flock Safety loves to crow about the thousands of local law enforcement agencies around the United States that have adopted its avian–themed automated license plate readers (ALPRs). But when a privacy activist launched a website to map out the exact locations of these pole-mounted devices, the company tried to clip his wings.  

The company sent DeFlock.me and its creator Will Freeman a cease-and-desist letter, claiming that the project dilutes its trademark. Suffice it to say, and to lean into ornithological wordplay, the letter is birdcage liner.  

Representing Freeman, EFF sent Flock Safety a letter rejecting the demand, pointing out that the grassroots project is well within its First Amendment rights.  

Flock Safety’s car-tracking cameras have been spreading across the United States like an invasive species, preying on public safety fears and gobbling up massive amounts of sensitive driver data. The technology not only tracks vehicles by their license plates, but also creates “fingerprints” of each vehicle, including the make, model, color and other distinguishing features. This is a mass surveillance technology that collects information on everyone, regardless of whether they are connected to a crime. It has been misused by police to spy on their ex-partners and could be used to target people engaged in First Amendment activities or seeking medical care.  

Through crowdsourcing and op

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