Tech Feed - January 15, 2026

Articles and podcasts from the software engineering world.

Software Engineering Daily

America Under Surveillance with Michael Soyfer

Here is a comprehensive summary of the podcast episode "America Under Surveillance with Michael Soyfer":

Opening Context:

• The guest is Michael Soyfer, an attorney at the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm focused on defending individual rights.
• The main topic is the growing use of surveillance technologies like automated license plate readers and facial recognition by police departments across the U.S., and the legal and constitutional questions this raises around privacy, accountability, and government power.

Key Discussion Points and Insights:

• Soyfer discusses a specific case the Institute for Justice is involved in, challenging the city of Norfolk, Virginia's deployment of 172 Flock license plate reader cameras that can track vehicle movements across the city.
• These systems allow police to build detailed dossiers on people's daily movements and patterns, raising concerns about "pervasive police surveillance" and erosion of Fourth Amendment privacy rights.
• The legal landscape has struggled to keep up, with courts still relying on outdated precedents from the 1980s that failed to anticipate modern data collection capabilities.
• Legislation has also trailed the rapid proliferation of these technologies, with most states only recently starting to enact laws to regulate license plate readers and other surveillance tools.
• Soyfer argues these systems represent a troubling trend towards "big data government surveillance", where local police can amass comprehensive data on citizens without meaningful oversight or accountability.

Notable Technologies, Tools, or Concepts Mentioned:

• Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) like those deployed by Flock Safety, which capture license plate and vehicle data
• Facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies
• "Vehicle fingerprinting" to identify cars by make, color, and other features
• Cell site location data and past Supreme Court rulings on warrantless cell phone tracking
• Aerial surveillance programs like the one used in Baltimore

Practical Implications and Recommendations:

• Soyfer argues for data minimization, warrant requirements, access restrictions, and robust auditing to prevent misuse of surveillance data, rather than just trusting government to police itself.
• He highlights the role citizens, technologists, and state/local legislators can play in advocating for privacy protections and pushing back against unchecked expansion of surveillance powers.
• Provides an overview of the Institute for Justice's "Plate Privacy Project" and model "PEEPS Act" legislation as examples of proactive measures to regulate license plate readers and similar technologies.
• Encourages technologists to get involved as plaintiffs, amicus brief filers, or advocates engaging with local government, rather than assuming the industry uniformly supports these tools.

Overall, the episode provides a detailed look at the legal and policy challenges around emerging surveillance technologies, making the case that more robust safeguards are needed to uphold constitutional privacy rights in the digital age.