The Fourth Amendment
The Bill of Rights protects people against unreasonable government searches and seizures.
Read the text ↗Community surveillance watch · Gwinnett County, GA
Understand surveillance in Gwinnett.
Explore the map, follow the sources, and ask better questions.
The cameras around us
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Locations may be incomplete or outdated.
Daily Watch
View all →Source-linked reporting, with claims and limitations clearly labeled.
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Explore your community
Local camera maps, public records, and civic contacts.
Follow the paper trail
Public records
Find the right agency and prepare a focused records request.
Explore records → Show up locallyCommunity calendar
Public meetings and opportunities to ask questions.
See what’s coming up → Start with the basicsUnderstand ALPRs
Learn about license plate readers and the questions they raise.
Read the explainer →Show up locally
Community happenings
Meetings, hearings, town halls, and actions where public surveillance can be questioned in person.
Full community calendar →Loading upcoming events…
Not just a traffic camera
What does an ALPR collect?
An automated license plate reader photographs passing vehicles and turns what it sees into searchable, time-stamped location data.
License plateLocationDate + timeMake + modelColorUnique features
Read EFF’s ALPR explainer ↗
Monitor the rollout
News & public bulletins
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We prioritize official county documents and clearly label commentary. Last checked: —.
How we got here
A short history of watching.
Drag the timeline or use the arrows. Surveillance expanded through technology, policy, crisis—and too often, without meaningful public debate.
Wiretaps enter the debate
Olmstead v. United States exposes how new technology can outrun old legal assumptions.
View the case ↗Privacy beyond property
Katz v. United States recognizes Fourth Amendment protection where a person reasonably expects privacy.
View the case ↗Surveillance accelerates
The USA PATRIOT Act rapidly expands government surveillance authorities after September 11.
Read the law ↗GPS tracking is a search
In United States v. Jones, the Court holds that attaching a GPS tracker to a vehicle is a Fourth Amendment search.
View the case ↗Location history gets protection
Carpenter v. United States requires a warrant for historical cell-site location records in most cases.
View the case ↗Networks watch the road
ALPR networks make vehicle movements searchable across time and jurisdictions. The constitutional limits remain contested.
Explore location privacy ↗The Constitution still applies
Privacy is not something to hide.
It is room to think, gather, worship, speak, travel, and live without being cataloged by default.
Fourth Amendment
Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Courts are still defining how its principles apply to large-scale, long-term location tracking.
Constitution Annotated ↗First Amendment
Protects speech, assembly, religion, and association. Pervasive monitoring can chill people from exercising those rights freely.
Constitution Annotated ↗Fourteenth Amendment
Guarantees due process and equal protection. Opaque watchlists and biased enforcement raise questions of notice, fairness, and unequal impact.
Constitution Annotated ↗This site provides public education, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, speak with a qualified attorney.
Follow the paper trail
Use your right to know.
Georgia’s Open Records Act generally makes agency records available unless a specific exemption applies. A focused written request creates a clear record and is easier for an agency to fulfill.
Open Gwinnett’s request portal ↗- 1
Choose the right agency
Request records from the department that created or holds them—often Police, Sheriff, Procurement, or a city police department.
- 2
Be specific and date-bound
Name the contract, policy, audit log, data-sharing agreement, retention schedule, or camera inventory you want.
- 3
Ask for electronic records
Request native electronic format and ask to be notified before fees exceed an amount you choose.
- 4
Track the response
Georgia agencies generally must respond within three business days, even if production takes longer.
Starter language
Copy a focused ALPR request
Under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., I request electronic copies of current contracts, policies, retention schedules, camera inventories, data-sharing agreements, and audit logs concerning automated license plate readers for the period [START DATE] through [END DATE]. Please provide records in their native electronic format. Notify me before incurring fees above $[AMOUNT].
Help document the network
Spotted a camera?
Prepare your report here, then review and save it in OpenStreetMap. DeFlock uses that public map data.
You’ll need a free OpenStreetMap account ↗. Your saved edit and OSM username will be public.
Map what you can confirmObserve from public places without interfering with equipment. Leave uncertain details unspecified. Don’t include personal information in public edits.
Identify a camera with DeFlock’s guide ↗
Not sure what you saw?
Use the identification guide before mapping it as a license plate reader. For other camera types, follow DeFlock’s reporting guide.
Send us a tip or ask for help →. Include the location and what you observed. Emailing us does not add a camera to OpenStreetMap.
Connect with the movement