Big Brother Loves Flock Cameras

In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the privacy of American citizens has been seriously compromised. To “keep Americans safe,” the bureaucratic monolith of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created, which includes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The Patriot Act was enacted, which “made it easier for the government to spy on ordinary Americans by expanding the authority to monitor phone and email communications, collect bank and credit reporting records, and track the activity of innocent Americans on the Internet.”

The legislation allows government agents to issue National Security Letters (NSLs) “without a judge's approval, to obtain personal information, including phone records, computer records, credit history, and banking history.”

Between 2003 and 2006, 192,499 NSLs were issued, leading to only “one terror-related conviction,” which would have occurred regardless of legislation. Under the Patriot Act, the government never destroys the private information it collects, and it is widely accessible. For example, 34,000 law enforcement and intelligence agents can retrieve collected phone records by NSLs.

The Patriot Act set the stage for the latest tool in the crime-fighting arsenal: surveillance cameras, which police departments staunchly defend as essential technology. The leading company for these systems is Flock Safety, which manufactures “surveillance camera systems that record and analyze everything that passes them.”

Flock cameras are used as “automated license plate readers to track or reconstruct movements of vehicles in criminal investigations.” Currently, the company claims it has 120,000 cameras throughout the United States that “capture billions of data points each month.”

The cameras are connected in a national network of “recorded activity.” While advocates claim the cameras help fight crime, others object to the invasion of privacy.

Opposition to Flock cameras is growing nationwide, as cities such as Fort Collins, Colorado, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Syracuse, New York have canceled contracts with the company. Overall, 214 cities and counties have ended their Flock camera contracts since 2021, and the pace of terminations is accelerating, with 90 acting in the last month.

David Maass of the Electronic Frontier Foundation outlined one reason for the opposition. He noted that Americans enjoy the “freedom to drive” and view their vehicles as “an extension of their homes.” Critics contend that cameras that track their vehicles represent the government intruding into their personal lives. According to Maass, the “nationwide searchability” of these surveillance systems and the “massive scale of the data that is being collected, and who it’s being accessed by” has started to greatly alarm Americans.

One state where protests over Flock cameras have been increasing is Texas. At least 3,200 Flock cameras have been purchased in Texas. The government agencies involved include the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Board and the Department of Public Safety, which spent $15.9 million.

After placing a moratorium on data centers in his state, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras.

One reason for outrage over Flock cameras is reports that law enforcement agents have misused this powerful technology. In Lufkin, Texas, one police officer illegally tracked 11 people for over one year using Flock cameras.

Improper use of Flock cameras has been identified in at least six Texas police departments or sheriff’s offices in the past month. According to the Texas Tribune, officers have been “placed on leave, investigated or criminally charged.”

In an interview with commentator Glenn Beck, Abbott promised that the use of Flock cameras in Texas would be “reduced dramatically.” He added that “They’re going to be required to be used responsibly if they’re used at all.”

The vast capabilities of Flock cameras are a great concern to Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), who is launching an investigation to determine “WHO has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data-and what they’re doing with it.”

Hawley posted that “Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church.” He called it “unprecedented” for a company to have such a “national surveillance network.” Hawley noted that Flock cameras are in use in 49 states and conduct “more than 20 billion vehicle scans each month.” According to Flock Safety, over 5,000 communities nationwide use its cameras.

This disturbs Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who believes the use of Flock cameras in his state is “out of control.” He specifically noted his concern about any police officer using the technology to track “an ex-girlfriend.”

Utilizing the vast network of Flock cameras, artificial intelligence (AI) has turned the system into “a mass surveillance dragnet.” In the view of Catherine Crump, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, “It definitely does not help that this is yet another Silicon Valley product that no one asked for that threatens to reshape people’s lives.”

At least one bill by Republican Rep. Keith Self (TX-3) has been introduced to deal with this threat. His legislation would “require federal agencies to obtain warrants before accessing Flock camera data.” Self believes “Americans’ Fourth Amendment right to be secure in their privacy does not disappear just because of new technology or artificial intelligence.”

Self’s bill should have support from all members of Congress, but he faces an uphill battle. Leaders in many communities are clearly overlooking privacy concerns to embrace the cameras for public safety. The onslaught of new city contracts is outpacing contract cancellations by a margin of “10 to one,” according to Flock Safety spokesperson Courtney Terlecki.

Fortunately, the tide is turning as Americans learn about the vast capabilities of these cameras and AI to create a national surveillance network.

In his novel 1984, written in 1948, author George Orwell described a nightmarish future where citizens of Oceania constantly encounter posters with the phrase “Big Brother is watching you.”

With the power of our government surveillance tools and the omnipresence of the Flock cameras, Big Brother is undoubtedly watching Americans. Will we accept this in the name of “safety,” or reject it to retain a semblance of freedom? Time will tell. 

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