Whether a belated semiquincentennial birthday gift to America from the ghosts of the Founding Fathers or simply a bout of good fortune for those longing for the degree of privacy against the government that existed when the Fourth Amendment was adopted, the last several weeks have been pretty rough on Big Brother, especially Flock Safety.

For those unfamiliar with Flock, this is the company that partnered with police, homeowners’ associations, and various businesses to blanket much of the country with automatic license plate readers and thus roll out a mass vehicle surveillance network before most people understood what was going on.