The Surveillance Revolt — The Weekly

Katherine Mangu-Ward (Editor in Chief of Reason) joins host Ron Steslow to examine the growing revolt against automated license-plate surveillance company Flock and what it reveals about privacy in the age of AI. They begin with the backlash against flock: cameras cut down across dozens of states, communities canceling contracts, and an unlikely coalition uniting against the technology. They dive into what the anger is really about and whether it channels a broader anxiety about losing control. From there, they turn to what these systems can now do, as leaked code points to tools that track people—not just license plates—and invites comparisons to China’s surveillance state. Then, they weigh the deeper tension of a company whose only customer is the state, the problem of overcriminalization, and the specter of automated law enforcement. Finally, they consider the Supreme Court’s geofence ruling, the data-broker loophole it leaves wide open, and what privacy is ultimately for. In Politicology+, they look at a single case that tests how far privacy itself can be treated as a crime: an American Citizen charged with a felony for deleting his phone’s data. POLITICOLOGY+ Not yet a Politicology+ member? Don’t miss all the extra episodes on the private, ad-free version of this podcast. Upgrade now at politicology.com/plus. SPONSORS & PROMO CODES: https://bit.ly/44uAGZ8 Send your questions and ideas to podcast@politicology.com Ron Steslow on X: https://x.com/RonSteslow Katherine Mangu-Ward on X: https://x.com/kmanguward Related Reading: Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED Reason - Flock Safety’s new privacy rules do little to ease concerns over ALPR surveillance Reason - America is building a surveillance state like China's Pirate wires - Flock's Case for the Panopticon Wired - Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code | WIRED ACLU - Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are “Suspicious” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices