Federal Court Slams Warrantless Flock Surveillance

Liberty Check

• Fourth Amendment protections reaffirmed against mass surveillance
• Indiscriminate data collection deemed unconstitutional by federal court
• Big Tech-government surveillance partnerships under renewed scrutiny

A federal judge has ruled that warrantless searches of Flock Safety’s automatic license plate recognition system violated the Fourth Amendment.

The decision comes amid growing concerns over government agencies accessing private surveillance networks without probable cause or judicial oversight.

The ruling describes the technology as “a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance” that raises serious constitutional questions.

“This court finds that accessing the Flock database without a warrant constitutes an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment.”

Civil liberties advocates welcomed the decision as a critical check on expanding government surveillance powers.

The case highlights tensions between public safety initiatives and individual privacy rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

“Americans deserve better.”

NEW: A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that police violated the Fourth Amendment by searching Flock and other license plate reader data without a warrant, accessing more than 50 records of a driver’s movements across multiple states over a month. pic.twitter.com/3DkpfQYcha

— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) October 3, 2026