Fox 9, the Minneapolis-St. Paul news station, had been broadcasting a 24-hour live stream of children playing at a public splash pad in Maple Grove, Minnesota — without any visible notice to families at the park.
A TikToker, whose identity was not confirmed in the post, discovered the stream while checking the Central Park splash pad opening hours on the park's website.
The feed showed children playing at the splash pad in real time. She posted a video about it, which was shared on X by user @WallStreetApes.
A camera has been discovered that been live streaming 24 hours a day pointed directly at a children’s park
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 8, 2026
It’s called Central Park of Maple Grove in Minnesota
The camera is pointed directly at the splash pad where kids will be in their swimming suits
“Am I overreacting or… pic.twitter.com/TWm8PEdq4l
"Am I overreacting or thinking this is a bigger deal than it is?" she said in the video. "This camera is like directly at the splash pad, so I can see all these kids playing. Why is there a live camera 24/7 watching the children?"
Fox 9 operates a live streaming camera network across the Twin Cities through its Weather Vision service — the Central Park stream was hosted on the station's website before being taken offline.
No signs at the park indicated that a live camera was broadcasting footage online.
Another Maple Grove resident, Abby Honold, posted about the camera on Facebook after learning about it from a sister, also a mother, who had seen the controversy developing online. Honold wrote she had been taking her child to the splash pad for years and had no idea the camera existed.
"There is no visible notice to families about this camera that I've seen, and I have no idea when it was put up," she wrote. "When I noticed it, I assumed it was for security. The children at the splash pad, in their swimsuits, who are young and also frequently have mishaps with their swimsuits because many of them are toddlers, are being live streamed online without anyone's knowledge or consent."
Honold wrote she was "furious no matter what the reason for it is," and called on others to contact Fox 9 and the city of Maple Grove. The camera was taken offline after the controversy spread on social media.
Reactions on X and Facebook were split between concern about the stream itself and speculation about its purpose. One commenter wrote, "It depends on who owns the camera? The cops, then it would be prevention. If it's something else, then it's for a different purpose."
The 1st Amendment allows for imaging anything in public places that your eyes can see. Being uncomfortable does not supersede Constitutional Rights...check out "1st Amendment Auditors" on Youtube.
— Mr. Sausage (@GeneSmi45718025) June 8, 2026
Another wrote, "Most places do have those now. I don't think it is to help bad actors, but more to let people see conditions there at the moment, maybe crowd sizes. They could also be recording in case there is an incident and need to review cameras."
A third wrote, "Why have a weather camera pointed towards the kids though? Cameras are everywhere now and it's a bit odd that a Fox weather camera was pointing at the kids. Hopefully this is nothing serious, but you never know who's actually watching."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the full details described in the TikTok video. The details above reflect the accounts shared on TikTok and Facebook by the unidentified mother and Abby Honold, and on X by @WallStreetApes. The identity of the TikToker has not been confirmed.
