Judge calls warrantless Flock search unconstitutional mass surveillance, throws out drug evidence

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What just happened? Flock's not been going through a good time recently. But before you start playing the tiniest violin in the world for the surveillance company, here's some more good news. A US District Judge has ruled that a warrantless search of automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems violated the Fourth Amendment, and has thrown out the resulting evidence in a drug trafficking case.

Judge Sara Hill's October 1 ruling concerns Melisa Susan Kyle, whose California-plated Mazda SUV attracted Tulsa County Deputy Sheriff Freddie Alaniz's attention. Hill said he initially followed it for no apparent reason beyond its out-of-state plate. It seems being from California was enough to warrant a look through someone's travel history.

Alaniz queried two ALPR systems while he was tailing the vehicle: Flock and VehicleManager.

The searches produced...

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