Drop Flock! - Poster of the Week
Drop Flock
Madi Toloui; San Francisco Poster Syndicate; Berkeley Copwatch
Silkscreen, 2026
San Francisco, CA
9143
Mass surveillance is a profitable industry. From the phones in our pockets, to Ring doorbell cameras, privacy is rapidly disappearing. One of the newest tech companies that has been subtly invading American cities is Flock. The company makes traffic cameras that automatically record and log car license plates for over 5,000 law enforcement agencies in 49 states. An AI algorithm catalogs details of the car including model, make, color, license plate number, and bumper stickers.
Like many products in the tech industry, there are very few laws regulating its usage, and little oversight on its abuse. This level of surveillance technology can be exploited by abusive powers. The Institute for Justice identified at least 26 cases nationwide of police officers abusing license plate reading cameras to stalk romantic interests.
The data collected by these cameras has been sold to third parties, including the federal government (and ICE). Last year alone, there were "more than 4,000 nation and statewide lookups by local and state police done either at the behest of the federal government or as an 'informal' favor to federal law enforcement." The data is not even well protected. Benn Jordan, a popular YouTuber, found the administration interfaces for dozens of Flock cameras using a commercial search engine; none of the data or video footage was encrypted or password protected. It was all public facing.
Over 55 localities have ended their contracts with Flock in the past year, from Verona, Wisconsin to Syracuse, New York to Newport, Ohio. Even the Los Angeles Police Department suspended their use of Flock following news that LAPD used flock to surveil protesters last year.
Last week, Congressman Keith Self (R-TX-3) introduced to Congress the Protecting Rights in Video and Equipment Acquired Discovery (PRIVACY) Act, which would require federal law enforcement to obtain warrants before accessing data and would limit data retention–per the Fourth Amendment.
If you live in Los Angeles, get informed and voice your concerns at a public meeting on JULY 30th at 4pm at this Zoom link.
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