Vigilantes Across America Are Tearing Down Flock Cameras
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.
Why It Matters
More than 100,000 license plate readers went up across America, and vigilantes are deciding which ones stay up. Flock chief executive Garrett Langley calls some of them terrorists, Tucker Carlson calls the vandals decent patriots, an ACLU tally shows over 70 municipalities walking away, and a Washington Post investigation tied at least 50 officers to abusing the system, mostly to stalk partners and exes, the National Post recounts. The sabotage is plainly illegal; it is also working. Flock answered on August 13 with shorter data retention and new oversight, and the camera cutters shrugged, NBC News finds, so the next verdicts arrive one council renewal vote at a time.
Go Deeper
Read the original reporting at The Guardian.
Read Full Story at The Guardian →