Vigilantes Across America Are Tearing Down Flock Surveillance Cameras in Protest
Via The Guardian
The Story
Vigilantes across the United States are destroying Flock surveillance cameras in protest of automated license plate readers, with the Guardian identifying at least 33 incidents across 23 states aimed explicitly at fighting mass surveillance.
A masked Minneapolis influencer known as NoMark, dubbed the city's Batman, has taken down more than a dozen of the devices and receives daily messages from followers seeking advice.
Flock Safety, valued at 8.4 billion dollars, says its cameras scan license plates billions of times each month in about 6,000 communities and insists they are not mass surveillance tools.
Critics counter that the devices sweep up location data from innocent drivers without warrants, that ICE can access feeds through legal loopholes, and that officers have misused the system to stalk people.
The backlash extends beyond vandalism, as more than 80 cities have dropped or rejected Flock contracts, the grassroots group DeFlock has mapped over 115,000 readers nationwide, and a Texas lawmaker introduced a bill requiring warrants for camera data.
Law enforcement fusion centers are circulating memos directing officers to monitor anti Flock advocacy, while several accused camera destroyers now face criminal charges.
Flock has begun adapting to the pressure, canceling a feature meant to detect screaming and apologizing after its CEO called DeFlock terroristic.
A masked Minneapolis influencer known as NoMark, dubbed the city's Batman, has taken down more than a dozen of the devices and receives daily messages from followers seeking advice.
Flock Safety, valued at 8.4 billion dollars, says its cameras scan license plates billions of times each month in about 6,000 communities and insists they are not mass surveillance tools.
Critics counter that the devices sweep up location data from innocent drivers without warrants, that ICE can access feeds through legal loopholes, and that officers have misused the system to stalk people.
The backlash extends beyond vandalism, as more than 80 cities have dropped or rejected Flock contracts, the grassroots group DeFlock has mapped over 115,000 readers nationwide, and a Texas lawmaker introduced a bill requiring warrants for camera data.
Law enforcement fusion centers are circulating memos directing officers to monitor anti Flock advocacy, while several accused camera destroyers now face criminal charges.
Flock has begun adapting to the pressure, canceling a feature meant to detect screaming and apologizing after its CEO called DeFlock terroristic.
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