Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Flock Safety's ALPR cameras proliferate despite security flaws, police misuse, and false arrests.
Flock Safety has installed over 100,000 AI-powered cameras nationwide, logging vehicle and person movements for law enforcement. The cameras have been plagued by security vulnerabilities, including exposed live feeds accessible without passwords. Police have used Flock to stalk individuals, and AI errors have led to innocent people being pulled over or charged. Cities face difficulty removing the cameras due to restrictive contracts; some have resorted to covering them with trash bags.
What commenters are saying
Commenters split into two camps. One group argues that police already track citizens via phones and stingrays, making Flock just another tool that needs safeguards, not removal. The other camp sees Flock as a private-business end-run around legal oversight, enabling mass surveillance without warrants. A technical subthread debates whether LLMs reduce the barrier to building similar systems, with some noting basic computer vision has existed for decades.