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Sex and gender data limits clear Denver committee 5-0, heads to full council
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Sex and gender data limits clear Denver committee 5-0, heads to full council

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Kevin Flynn asked the question two different ways on two different days. What data does Denver collect or share now that it wouldn't under this ordinance? By the time the committee voted, he had one narrow answer about collection and none about sharing. "What are we doing today that under this ordinance we will no longer be doing?" the Southwest Denver councilman asked Monday, when the Sex and Gender Identity Protection Ordinance came before the Budget and Policy Committee for a briefing. "I'm having trouble understanding or visualizing it." He tried again Wednesday, when the same bill reached the Health and Safety Committee for a vote. He said he was "surprised to learn that we're sharing this information with anybody...
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Englewood Drops Flock Cameras Amid Privacy and Surveillance Concerns
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Axios, Approved, Local

Englewood Drops Flock Cameras Amid Privacy and Surveillance Concerns

By Robert Sanchez | Axios Englewood could cover its 12 automatic license plate-readers (ALPRs) with garbage bags if Flock Safety doesn't promptly remove them after City Council canceled the company's contract Tuesday. State of play: Englewood has no replacement lined up for its stationary readers after council unanimously dropped Flock and deadlocked on a proposed contract with competitor Axon. The city pays Flock $64,500 annually for its ALPR system. What they're saying: "Whether we use Flock or Axon, it's no different," Councilmember Rita Russell said. "They both do the same thing." In the room: Council voted 6–0 to terminate Flock, which Englewood police began using in 2023. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT AXIOS
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Boebert Sounds Alarm Over Growing License Plate Surveillance Networks
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The Daily Caller, Approved, Commentary, National

Boebert Sounds Alarm Over Growing License Plate Surveillance Networks

By Rep. Lauren Boebert | Commentary, Daily Caller As we near the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, I write in defense of freedom not as a politician seeking applause, but as a Coloradan, a mother, a grandmother, and a fierce defender of the liberties that define this nation. Fixed license plate reader cameras are quietly turning American streets into zones of constant monitoring. These systems continuously scan and record vehicle plates, logging time, location, and travel patterns. In community after community, this infrastructure has often expanded without explicit statutory authorization, clear democratic limits, or the individualized suspicion that a warrant typically requires. It is simply happening. The result is a growing database of everyday movements — where people wor...
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Millions of License Plates Appear in Flock Search Records. Is Yours One of Them?
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CBS News, Approved, National

Millions of License Plates Appear in Flock Search Records. Is Yours One of Them?

By Mary Cunningham | CBS News As privacy concerns swirl over Flock Safety's nationwide network of cameras, drivers may be curious whether their license plate information is being tracked. The website HaveIBeenFlocked.com has compiled a database to provide the public with some answers.  Through the website's portal, people can enter their license number to see whether it has been searched in Flock's system.  As the website notes, the results show what Flock's customers — which include police agencies, local communities, schools and businesses — have searched for, but not the individual license plates captured by Flock's cameras.  "The license plates and search reasons are what someone manually entered into the system," the websi...
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Douglas County Replaces Flock Cameras With $22.8 Million Axon Public Safety System
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Douglas County Replaces Flock Cameras With $22.8 Million Axon Public Safety System

By: Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is abandoning the controversial Flock Safety camera system, joining a growing number of Colorado law enforcement agencies that have raised concerns about data privacy and ownership. The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a nearly $22.8 million contract with public safety technology company Axon that will replace the county’s network of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras and add a countywide drone response system. The package includes 100 Axon Outpost license plate reader cameras, replacing the county’s existing 50 Flock cameras, as well as a network of “first responder drones” stationed throughout the county. Officials said the technology will improve emergency res...
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Beyond the “kill switch”: How modern vehicles are already tracking drivers
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Beyond the “kill switch”: How modern vehicles are already tracking drivers

By Maria Orms | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Many people are talking about the “car surveillance” provision in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which directs regulators to develop technology that can monitor driver impairment—such as passively detecting blood alcohol levels. This has led to claims about a government “kill switch.” But what’s less widely discussed is that forms of remote connectivity and control have already been built into vehicles for over a decade. Since the 2010s, automakers have steadily integrated cellular connectivity—first 3G, then 4G LTE, and now 5G—into modern vehicles. Systems like OnStar and similar platforms allow cars to communicate with external networks. These connections enable features like emergency assistance, navigation up...
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Second Amendment Debate Reignites as Colorado Expands Gun Regulations
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TownHall.com, Approved, State

Second Amendment Debate Reignites as Colorado Expands Gun Regulations

By Tom Knighton | Townhall Because the Second Amendment protects the right to both keep and bear arms, there's a third thing implied. You can't keep or bear guns if you're unable to acquire them in some manner. In Colorado, where they've been attacking building firearms at home, they're also going after the gun stores with new rules. You see, it's not enough to have mountains of regulations that everyone has to follow. Colorado also wants to make it even more difficult for them to stay open The Colorado Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill adding more regulations to gun stores operating in the state. House Bill 26-1126, titled “Requirements for Firearms Dealers,” was approved on its third reading in a 20 to 15 vote, sending it to Gov. Jar...
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Attorneys raise concerns over certification tied to Colorado court system access
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Attorneys raise concerns over certification tied to Colorado court system access

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado attorneys are starting to push back after a certification prompt began appearing when they log into the state’s court e-filing system. The requirement traces back to Senate Bill 25-276 and related statutes, including C.R.S. § 24-74-105, which deal with how the state handles nonpublic personal identifying information. Under that law, access to certain data comes with a certification—made under penalty of perjury—about how it will be used. On paper, the statute applies broadly to third parties accessing protected data. In practice, though, the certification has now been built into Colorado Courts E-Filing (CCE), meaning attorneys are being asked to agree to it just to get into the system. What the law require...
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The hidden impact of two Colorado bills: Privacy risks few are talking about
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The hidden impact of two Colorado bills: Privacy risks few are talking about

By Maria Orms | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice When I heard about two bills recently proposed in the Colorado State Legislature, I don’t want to sound overly dramatic—but I felt a real chill. Right now, our Constitution and modern technology are on a collision course. We’re being forced to decide how to embrace powerful tools without sacrificing privacy and the rights those tools were never meant to undermine. Consider the debate over Flock cameras in Denver: 400 to 800 people showed up to a community meeting in November, and another 24,000 watched online. People are paying attention—and they’re concerned. Yet these new bills are moving forward with little fanfare and even less public scrutiny. Because they deal with technology, they’re easy to overlook—but their poten...
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Bill Targeting Government Purchase of Personal Data Faces Law Enforcement Opposition
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Bill Targeting Government Purchase of Personal Data Faces Law Enforcement Opposition

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A bipartisan coalition of Colorado lawmakers is advancing a bill that would prohibit police from purchasing personal consumer data without a warrant, setting up a clash with prosecutors who warn the measure could hamper criminal investigations. House Bill 1037, sponsored by Reps. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Ken DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Evergreen, would prohibit law enforcement and government entities from purchasing “certain personal data” from third parties without a warrant, except in emergencies. The bill, which sponsors are calling the “Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act,” aims to prohibit personal data purchased from a third party from being used as evidence in court. “Fundamentally, w...
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