Upcoming events

Iowa local groups

• Eyes Off Cedar Rapids

  Community organizing against ALPR surveillance in Cedar Rapids.

• Get the Flock Out QC

  Community organizing against ALPR surveillance in the Quad Cities.

• DeFlock — ALPR camera map

  Crowdsourced map of ALPR camera locations, including cameras across Iowa.

Featured Iowa coverage

• Coralville Flock timeline

  Coralvillains' timeline of Coralville's Flock camera rollout and rollback.

• Coralville Flock (pt. 1): How the Contract Bypassed Oversight

  How Flock leveraged a dysfunctional city council to install cameras without approval.

• Coralville Flock (pt. 2): As Transparent as a One-Way Mirror

  A complaint to Iowa's Attorney General over Coralville's unenforceable ALPR policy.

• Johnson County / Tiffin

  The Johnson County Sheriff botches a $98,900 surveillance contract for Tiffin.

More Iowa coverage

• Iowa DPS: Compliance Depends on Who's Asking

  June 11, 2026

  DPS awarded a federal grant on a certification of compliance that was never in place. When a complaint exposed the gap, DPS' grant bureau chief quietly handed the grant recipient the missing paperwork, while declaring the complaint "unfounded."

• File, Dismiss, Sue, Repeat: The Case for Dismantling Iowa's Public Information Board

  March 18, 2026

  The Iowa Public Information Board was created to resolve disputes and enforce transparency. In nearly 14 years, it hasn't.

• The Bill That Hides the Evidence

  March 8, 2026

  Iowa's proposed ALPR bill was copied from Virginia's. Virginia proved it doesn't work.

• Flock Releases Marketing Video, Leaks CJI and Own Address

  March 5, 2026

  Flock's two-minute cinematic masterpiece appears to show real license plates with real hotlist entries broadcast on screen — and the address of an unidentified industrial building surrounded by Flock hardware.

• Iowa's ALPR Bill Would Make Des Moines the License Plate Data Capital of America

  March 3, 2026

  An amendment strips warrant requirements and hands insurance companies access to a national surveillance database — with Iowa as the legal gateway.

• Twenty-Eight

  February 25, 2026

  Flock says 28 employees can access federally protected criminal justice information. The paperwork disagrees.

• Eighteen Years of Nightly Lineups

  February 23, 2026

  Iowa's DOT has run nightly facial recognition scans on millions of driver's license photos for eighteen years. In the past four, the scans have led to 14 criminal charges and zero recorded convictions.

• The Many Faces of Flock Permits (Part II)

  February 6, 2026

  Iowa has highway safety standards. Kind of.

• Flock Records Cops, Sends Recordings to Denmark

  December 17, 2025

  Evidence reveals Flock records police sessions and transmits raw data to foreign vendors, bypassing security controls. A complaint to Iowa DPS details active security incidents, the use of unvetted foreign contractors, and a software feature allowing users to unilaterally silently suppress NCIC alerts organization-wide.

• ACLU and University of Iowa Conduct Case Study in Institutional Contempt

  December 12, 2025

  Iowa agencies invent confidentiality exemptions, contradict their own legal obligations, and face zero consequences. A statewide ALPR records request exposes the system.

• The Many Faces of Flock Permits

  November 4, 2025

  Iowa DOT has a permitting process for roadside equipment. Kind of.

Iowa reporting — statewide

• Automated License Plate Readers in Iowa (report, PDF)

  ACLU of Iowa & UI Technology Law Clinic · December 10, 2025

• Eastern Iowa residents say AI surveillance cameras lack transparency and regulation

  Iowa Public Radio · September 12, 2025

• 'Get The Flock Out': The Heated Debate Over License-Plate Readers

  July 8, 2026

• AI mass surveillance expands, Iowa cities resist transparency

  Bleeding Heartland · July 17, 2025

Coralville Flock contract fight

• Coralville considers taking down Flock readers following warning from Iowa attorney general

  Iowa Public Radio · February 11, 2026

• Coralville terminates Flock license plate reader contract after months of outcry

  Iowa Public Radio · February 25, 2026

• Coralville City Council ends Flock contract signed by police chief after backlash

  Little Village · February 2026

Iowa legislature — ALPR bill(s)

• House lawmakers advance bill regulating Automated License Plate Readers

  Iowa Public Radio · February 16, 2026

• Iowa's ALPR "Reform" Bill Would Regulate Plate Readers — and Hide the Logs

  Restoring Democracy Investigations · April 2026

Facial recognition in Iowa

• Iowa DOT using facial recognition technology

  The Gazette

• Iowa — Jurisdiction Profile

  Center on Privacy & Technology (Perpetual Line Up)

Open-records litigation

Ongoing litigation against the Iowa Public Information Board, the Iowa Department of Corrections, and the City of Dubuque.

• Court of Appeals opinion, No. 24-2039 (PDF)

  Iowa Court of Appeals · February 25, 2026

• Public information board shouldn't have dismissed complaint, court rules

  Iowa Capital Dispatch · February 25, 2026

• Court: Iowa Public Information Board erred in dismissing complaint

  The Gazette · March 1, 2026

Press coverage of this project

• Your License Plate Has Been Tracked. This Free Tool Shows You Who Searched It.

  Yahoo News · July 6, 2026

• Flock threatens website hosting license plate data accidentally leaked by cops

  Yahoo News · January 13, 2026

• The website that started the investigation into Officer Josue Ayala

  WISN12 News

• Evansville Police Department's Flock camera searches posted online

  Evansville Courier & Press · January 28, 2026 (updated April 14, 2026)

• Police Unmask Millions of Surveillance Targets Because of Flock Redaction Error

  404 Media · January 13, 2026

• Have I Been Flocked? — Discussion Thread

  Hacker News