👮 Flock Searches for the LOLs | EFFector 38.16
A new EFF report finds that police officers across the United States are entering meaningless or flippant justifications — including 'LOL,' 'LMAO,' and 'Sexy' — when logging searches of Flock Safety's automated license plate reader networks. The findings suggest that required-reason fields, meant to create accountability, are being treated as formalities.
Why this matters: License plate readers track where your car goes. Flock's network is everywhere now — schools, suburbs, small towns. Most people assume there are real rules about when police can run a search. There are supposed to be. Officers are required to log a reason. But 'LOL' is not a reason. It is evidence that the accountability layer is not working. If the audit trail is a joke, the oversight is a joke. That matters because these systems build a detailed record of your movements, and the only check on who can pull that record is a field someone typed 'LMAO' into.
Who should care: Lawyers · Privacy officers · Compliance · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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