A private license plate camera company is spreading nationwide with no federal oversight, and its CEO is now smearing a nonprofit watchdog as a terrorist group — a warning sign for anyone worried about mass surveillance.

• Flock's CEO called DeFlock, a nonprofit that maps where the cameras are, a "terrorist organization" closer to Antifa — echoing the Trump administration's habit of branding left-wing groups as terrorists.
• The cameras are error-prone: one California town saw plates misread in 71% of police alerts, getting an innocent man repeatedly flagged for driving a "stolen" car.
• Police are abusing the system to stalk people — one chief searched an ex-girlfriend's plates over 600 times, and at least 50 officers have been accused of unauthorized use.
• A car reviewer test-driving a vehicle got swarmed and pinned in by police in a parking lot after a glitch flagged the car as stolen, with his family present.
• Pushback is going bipartisan: Byron Donalds in Florida wants a full pause, and Democratic candidate Francesca Hong is campaigning against the cameras.

Outlook: Expect growing bipartisan calls for regulation, but with police departments hooked on the tool and no federal rules, the cameras aren't coming down soon.