Police in Wisconsin used Flock to determine that a man “travels to Michigan frequently,” where marijuana is legal, then back to Wisconsin, where it is illegal. They then used his travel across state lines as tracked by Flock as part of the probable cause justification to search his car for ...
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The SEC Bought Airline Data to Monitor Flights WorldwideThe SEC Bought Airline Data to Monitor Flights Worldwide
📄 This article was primarily reported using public records requests. We are making it available to all readers as a public service. FOIA reporting can be expensive, please consider subscribing to 404 Media to support this work. Or send us a one time donation via our tip jar here. The ...
‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock‘DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE’: How Cops Are Trying to Hide Their Use of Flock
When cops use Flock to arrest someone in Wapello County, Iowa, they don’t want them to know. A usage policy for the automated license plate reader cameras in the county tells police, in no uncertain terms, to keep them a secret: “DO NOT MENTION ALPR USAGE TO THE OCCUPANTS OF ...
Microsoft Tells Engineers ‘Tokenmaxxing Is Not What We Are Optimizing For’Microsoft Tells Engineers ‘Tokenmaxxing Is Not What We Are Optimizing For’
Microsoft has introduced new limits to how much its engineers can spend on AI tools at work and told employees that maximizing AI use internally is not the company’s goal. This makes Microsoft one of the last major companies to rein in its employees’ expensive AI use. Scaling back maximalist ...
The SCREEN Act is a Christian Nationalist NightmareThe SCREEN Act is a Christian Nationalist Nightmare
On Wednesday morning, Ted Cruz’s Senate Commerce Committee will convene on five bills aimed at age verification and “child safety.” The bills each have their own issues when it comes to privacy, data collection, parental rights, and free speech. But one bill, the partisan Republican SCREEN Act, is a Christian ...
Why a Flock Worker Quit: ‘They Lied’Why a Flock Worker Quit: ‘They Lied’
This is an adaption of a podcast interview 404 Media recorded with Jonathan Paz, a former Flock employee who is now running running for Congress in Massachusetts’ 5th District. Check out the whole thing here on YouTube. Jonathan Paz was initially nervous when he started working at the surveillance company ...
‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech
404 Media has obtained a coaching guide that Flock surveillance gives to police about “how to speak to city councils about public safety technology.” The handbook highlights how Flock and police team up to convince cities to buy and keep its automated license plate reader technology, even when there is ...
We Need to Quarantine Aliens on the Moon, Scientists ProposeWe Need to Quarantine Aliens on the Moon, Scientists Propose
Welcome to a special edition of the Abstract! I’m out on vacation for the next two weeks, which means it’s time to break out all of the weird and wild studies that have come out so far in 2026, but that slipped through the cracks for one reason or another. ...
Google Earth’s New AI Lets Anyone Fabricate Completely Bullshit Satellite ImagesGoogle Earth’s New AI Lets Anyone Fabricate Completely Bullshit Satellite Images
On Thursday, Google introduced a new AI feature into Google Earth which lets anyone fabricate all sorts of misleading or straight up inaccurate satellite imagery, from making it look like a specific place has suffered a drone strike to manifesting a nuclear plant in Iran. Usually, Google Earth is an ...
Behind the Blog: Silent RetreatBehind the Blog: Silent Retreat
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss going into the woods, a “he admit it” moment, and a tofu sandwich. JOSEPH: Thank you to everyone who came to Thursday’s ...