Growing factions from both sides of the political aisle in the US are pushing back against surveillance cameras made by a single company, a rare response in a sharply divided country with a president pushing an unwaveringly pro-tech agenda.
asserted
factions → grow → agenda
The bipartisan backlash against Flock Safety cameras resembles nationwide rage toward the construction of large datacenters that power artificial intelligence.
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that → resemble → intelligence
Polling shows roughly 75% of Americans oppose new datacenter construction in their areas.
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% → show → areas
Flock’s cameras are automated license plate readers (ALPRs), which take pictures of vehicle license plates so police and security companies can log the movement of cars in a given area.
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police → automate → area
There are about 120,000 Flock cameras across the US, which conduct roughly 2bn scans per month.
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which → be → month
The company is staring down controversy after reports of abuses of its cameras by police officers in multiple states, who have used them to stalk ex-lovers and track people seeking abortions.
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who → star → abortions
The network the cameras feed into is also frequently utilized by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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cameras → feed → Immigration
Data and polling from the Washington Post show that social media posts about Flock have increased since July, and about 46% of Americans oppose ALPRs being used in their community – up 13 points from the previous year.
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ALPRs → show → community
Vigilantes are posting videos of themselves destroying the cameras to digital applause.
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themselves → post → applause
According to privacy and surveillance experts, hatred of Flock cameras has become bipartisan.
uncertain
hatred → accord → cameras
“In my 20-plus years at the ACLU, I’ve never really seen such a grassroots uprising against surveillance technology like this,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
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Stanley → see → Union
“On the left, there’s a historical memory of law enforcement spying on and interfering with advocates for social change …
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enforcement → ’ → change
Both liberal and conservative politicians are pushing back against Flock cameras.
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politicians → push → cameras
Greg Abbott, Texas’s Republican governor, blocked state agencies from procuring Flock products.
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Abbott → block → products
On the other side of the political spectrum, Bernie Sanders, the progressive US senator, is promising to introduce legislation to restrict the use of Flock cameras.
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Sanders → promise → cameras
Republican senator Josh Hawley has launched an investigation into potential Flock privacy abuses, and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna is cosponsoring a bill with Republican congressman Thomas Massie to prevent federal funds from being used to purchase Flock cameras.
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Khanna → launch → cameras
Municipal leaders of all political stripes are dropping contracts with Flock, though sometimes they replace the license plate readers with another brand of camera and continue the surveillance.
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they → drop → surveillance
We reached out to Flock Safety for a statement and did not receive a response before publishing.
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We → reach → publishing
This appears to be an unusual case where politicians are getting on the same side of a hot-button issue.
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politicians → appear → issue
“Privacy, to some extent, is bipartisan,” said Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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Guariglia → say → Foundation
“When you put up these cameras, they last longer than the current administration.
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they → put → administration
You might trust the people in power now who put them up – but are you going to trust the next people who get access to that equipment?”
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who → trust → equipment
Americans have been showing up at town hall meetings by the dozen over the past six months or so, and there have been numerous protests
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Americans → show → months
More than 100 jurisdictions have canceled their contracts so far, according to data from the non-profit Institute for Justice.
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jurisdictions → cancel → Justice
An organization called DeFlock, founded in 2024, hopes to increase the numbers by compiling a map of the cameras’ locations.
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organization → call → locations
While ALPRs aren’t new, Flock, founded in 2017, has made them far more prevalent than they used to be.
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they → found → 2017
The company’s software allows disparate law enforcement agencies to share data with one another, meaning a license plate scan by a police department in one state could easily and quickly be used in another.
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scan → allow → another
“Flock represents tech companies in bed with governments, doing the exact stuff people have become distrustful of and resentful about for the past few decades.
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people → represent → decades
It feels like it’s finally hit the boiling-over point,” said Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law and computer science at Boston University.
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Hartzog → feel → University
Hartzog predicts the actions against Flock Safety will continue at the state and local level amid this growing popular outrage.
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actions → predict → outrage
He expects people are going to stay angry about the issue, and politicians will have to respond.
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politicians → expect → issue
“The pushback we’re seeing against Flock cameras is one of the most vivid illustrations I can think of that surveillance is not inevitable – that these tools aren’t inevitable,” Hartzog says.
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Hartzog → see → illustrations
“It’s up to all of us to stop them.”
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It → ’ → them
The Aporia
