Benn Jordan investigates license plate reader surveillance
The Verge: Benn Jordan on Flock, privacy, and the new surveillance backlash
Today, I’m talking with Benn Jordan, musician, YouTuber, researcher, and investigative journalist. You might know Benn from those first two titles — he’s got a prolific discography of experimental music dating back decades. But in the last couple of years, he’s become a high-profile face in the creator and media spaces for his work investigating Flock Safety, the maker of automatic license plate readers and the software that powers them. Benn recently testified in front of Co
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Benn Jordan is a musician and YouTuber who has become a prominent investigator of automatic license plate reader systems and their role in surveillance infrastructure. His work has contributed to growing bipartisan criticism of Flock Safety, a maker of these cameras, leading to hundreds of cities canceling contracts and congressional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism. Jordan argues that the core issue is lack of transparency and public consent: citizens cannot opt out of these surveillance systems installed by governments and law enforcement, unlike other technologies where individuals have choices about adoption. His work represents a broader accountability effort by researchers, journalists, and civil rights groups to expose the connections between private industry, government, and law enforcement in building surveillance networks.
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