Privacy fears drive 'patriotic Americans' to destroy licence plate cameras

In only a few years, the surveillance start-up Flock has installed more than 100,000 licence plate reader cameras across the United States.
But a grass-roots movement upset over privacy concerns is fighting back - even going so far as systematically vandalising the equipment.
The first time he decided to trash one of the cameras, a self-styled vigilante wearing all black and known as Nomark, says he was "super nervous".
Now, after disabling about 30 of the devices near his home in the Minneapolis area, he said: "I'm not really as scared any more."
Flock cameras are installed by police departments, homeowners' associations and businesses, ostensibly to catch criminals in the act. Data is uploaded to Flock's cloud and can be shared with subscribers.
But opponents are outraged at what they say is a dangerous tool that can be used to infringe on American privacy and civil liberties.
At just 20 years old, Nomark offers his 500,000 Instagram followers a how-to guide for rendering the cameras useless, raising awareness about the devices.
His detractors point out - correctly - that his actions are illegal, but like-minded individuals have followed suit nationwide over the past few weeks.
Instead of being dismissed as a radical fringe outfit, the anti-Flock movement is taking hold.
The Facebook group DeFlock America has more than 600,000 members, and is gaining thousands more by the day.
Flock cameras differ from traditional surveillance cameras in that they do not record video footage.
Instead they take still images of vehicles, capturing the make, model, colour, licence plate data and other distinguishing features such as bumper stickers.
And unlike classic surveillance cameras, which are not networked, this data is stored for up to a month and shareable, sometimes across state lines.
Opponents say this gives police an overwhelming look into the private lives of law-abiding Americans.
Jon Bridges, a police official in Virginia's state capital Richmond, said that for "practically any crime that has a connection with a vehicle or a vehicle involved, we will at least query the database to see if there's anything there".
His department has used Flock since 2023.
Detractors fear that this allows officers to track vehicles without warrants, opening the door to a host of possible abuses of power.
According to an investigation done by The Washington Post, at least 50 police officers have been accused of misusing the Flock system, most of them to spy on the comings and goings of their romantic partners or exes.
In other cases reported in US media, police used Flock to track women who had abortions - illegal in several US states. Some illegally sent data from the system to immigration agents.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley has accused some opponents of being "terrorists", stoking the fire.
"There is really an incredible grass-roots movement against Flock," said Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, calling its growth "stunning".
The movement has support on both the political left and right, notably from libertarians.
Former Fox News host and conservative heavyweight Tucker Carlson has called the vandals "decent, patriotic Americans" who are simply "taking matters into their own hands".
So far, such grass-roots efforts are proving successful.
From Los Angeles to small towns in Virginia, more than 70 municipalities have ended their association with Flock in recent months, according to an ACLU tally.