Across the country, concerned citizens have been pushing back against Flock surveillance cameras in their communities.
In Virginia, a Navy veteran had been witnessing an ICE operation when she suddenly heard her full name barked into a loudspeaker. An ICE agent that she’d never met before in her life repeated her name and told her to leave the area.
“My heart was pounding,” she said. “I was scared. ICE mentioned my name out of the blue, and I had no idea how they knew my identity.”
She learned that Flock cameras had tracked her car more than 100 times over just three days and realized that’s probably how the creepy ICE agent knew her name. She shared her story at a city meeting and implored council members to cancel their contract with Flock.
Unfortunately, Norfolk hasn’t removed their surveillance cameras yet. But dozens of other cities in Virginia have canceled their contracts with Flock over the past year. Staunton, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Elkton, and Floyd have all ended or pledged not to renew their contracts with the license plate reader company.
This change didn’t happen by accident. It happened because community members spoke up at city council meetings and made sure their local representatives heard their concerns.
It’s not limited to Virginia either. Across the country, 95 municipalities have canceled or rejected contracts with Flock after pushback from neighbors. And when their representatives refuse to listen, some locals are taking matters into their own hands by vandalizing or cutting down cameras in the middle of the night.
In a nation divided by politics, opposition to Flock cameras crosses party lines. “We had work boots and Subarus in our parking lot, and they were united in their position against the Flock cameras,” said one Republican commissioner in North Carolina. “This is a bipartisan issue within our community.”
That means that Flock cameras are a great issue to discuss with folks in your life, regardless of their political affiliation. We all want safer communities, but AI-powered surveillance by tech billionaires is not the way to achieve that. Not when police officers are using it to stalk their ex-girlfriends, ICE agents are tracking the movements of legal observers, and innocent citizens are being falsely arrested.
If you want to learn more about how Flock works, how the data moves between agencies, and what it means for our privacy rights, Red Wine & Blue is holding a live virtual event next Tuesday with all the answers you need. We’ll be joined by computer scientist and privacy researcher Jen Golbeck as well as local residents fighting to get Flock cameras removed. You can learn more and RSVP for the event here.
It might feel overwhelming, even pointless, to fight against the likes of ICE and powerful tech billionaires. But in communities all across the country, people are doing just that… and they’re winning.
While not condoning illegal activities; I applaud the people who have taken matters in their own hands by removing the cameras themselves. If their representatives on councils will not do anything it is up to us. Also, I cannot stress this enough; VOTE on November 3rd. Remove the Republicans that do not pay attention to you.