Flock keeps spying on us all, and state and local officials aren't protecting us - 48 hills

"Flock Safety has been in the news a lot lately. The private surveillance company has come under fire in Georgia and across California for allegations of disturbing privacy violations. It's not surprising, considering some of the company's seed money came from Peter Thiel, who started Palantir, which has now become one of the federal government's largest, and most well-funded, partners in setting up a privatized surveillance state."

"In the Bay Area, and across the country, Flock has set up an extensive network of cameras that track not just your license plate or your car, but your movements. New Flock technologies like Pan, Tilt, Zoom (PTZ) or FreeForm are focused on people rather than vehicles, documenting innocent people's daily movements without even the suspicion of a crime."

"The powerful network that Flock has created is already rampantly out of control and, with seemingly no enforcement of the existing regulations meant to stop it, the public is at risk. Flock's well-polished website features a section entitled "Articles and Resources" at the bottom. The first tab in this section is an e-book designed for law enforcement with the header "Your Plan for Tech-Enhanced Public Safety.""

"Despite widespread public outrage both in the Bay Area and elsewhere, municipal and state officials have done vanishingly little to enforce the existing laws, let alone institute new restrictions, on Flock's ever-expanding surveillance network. If you've driven anywhere in the Bay Area's nine counties over the past nine months, your plate has been documented by the small, round black cameras."

Flock Safety faces allegations of privacy violations in Georgia and California. Funding connections to Peter Thiel and Palantir are cited as part of a broader shift toward privatized surveillance. The company deploys camera networks that track more than vehicles, including movements of people through technologies such as Pan, Tilt, Zoom and FreeForm. Automated License Plate Reader cameras are described as widespread in the Bay Area. The network is characterized as out of control, with little enforcement of existing regulations. Public outrage is noted alongside minimal action by municipal and state officials. The company’s materials for law enforcement are presented as promoting tech-enhanced public safety despite claims of reduced public safety.

Read at 48 hills