Photo by Portland Press Herald

@pressherald · September 15, 2026

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On the shoulder of the highway. At the grocery store. Beside schools. In gas station parking lots. Surveillance technology powered by artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly common across Maine. Automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, like Flock cameras are being deployed by a growing number of police departments. Worksite cameras are monitoring construction workers’ productivity. Large trailers with cameras, microphones and speakers owned by big box stores are policing parking lots across the state. Much of the technology introduced in recent years tiptoes around Maine surveillance laws. The state prohibits private companies from using ALPRs, bans the use of facial recognition by law enforcement and requires companies to notify employees if they are going to be surveilled at work. But technology has advanced much faster than state law. Companies have filled the gray areas between surveillance and public safety, between Maine law and technological progress, and between private enterprise and local law enforcement. Read the full investigation - link in bio. Story by Dylan Tusinski and Salomé Cloteaux. Illustration by Dylan Tusinski. #maine #flock #alpr #flockcameras