Two cities just voted to get Flock cameras out. It’s only the beginning.
While these are just two communities out of the thousands that use the cameras — hardly enough to dismantle the nationwide surveillance network — these results show the real possibility of taking on mass surveillance and winning.
Key points
- This led to a number of cities pausing, not renewing, or canceling their contracts with Flock Safety, the leading company behind the controversial AI-enabled automated license plate readers, this year.
- Nongovernmental entities — such as college campuses, homeowners associations, even supermarkets — have started purchasing and deploying Flock cameras of their own and sharing the data with law enforcement.
- In response to a request for comment about these two measures, a Flock spokesperson told Vox, “We’re grateful to both York and League City elected leaders and community members who engaged in this conversation.
But one issue remains: Even if the initiatives that passed on Tuesday inspire similar civic resistance in future elections, the fight against the problem that Flock represents is just beginning for those who don’t want their every move tracked.
Additional details
- Flock technology has had a real impact helping to solve crime in those cities and across the country.” The company added, “While we’re disappointed in the outcome, we respect the decision voters made and will work directly with the city on next steps.” To privacy advocates working in the surveillance space, these wins signify a shift.
- Its residents decisively rejected the surveillance cameras, with 5,386 votes (73 percent of the vote) in favor of the ordinance and only 2,043 votes (27 percent) against.
- Towns in two states, Texas and Maine, voted on midterm ballot measures concerning Flock.
- While some advocates for Flock systems argue that the company’s AI-enabled automated license plate readers (ALPRs) may make solving certain crimes easier, public attention has been drawn to overt misuse of the technology by current and former law-enforcement officers.
- Even some police leaders have expressed concerns about Flock’s ability to target people who have not been accused of a crime, potentially raising serious constitutional issues.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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