Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAmericans are destroying Flock surveillance cameras
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/23/americans-are-destroying-flock-surveillance-cameras/Brian Merchant, writing for Blood in the Machine, reports that people across the United States are dismantling and destroying Flock surveillance cameras, amid rising public anger that the license plate readers aid U.S. immigration authorities and deportations.
Flock is the Atlanta-based surveillance startup valued at $7.5 billion a year ago and a maker of license plate readers. It has faced criticism for allowing federal authorities access to its massive network of nationwide license plate readers and databases at a time when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are increasingly relying on data to raid communities as part of the Trump administrations immigration crackdown.
Flock cameras allow authorities to track where people go and when by taking photos of their license plates from thousands of cameras located across the United States. Flock claims it doesnt share data with ICE directly, but reports show that local police have shared their own access to Flock cameras and its databases with federal authorities.
snip
Merchant reports instances of broken and smashed Flock cameras in La Mesa, California ... Other cases of vandalism have stretched from California and Connecticut, to Illinois and Virginia. In Oregon, six license plate scanning cameras on poles were cut down and at least one spray painted. A note left at the base of the severed poles said, Hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks, reports Merchant.
Flock is the Atlanta-based surveillance startup valued at $7.5 billion a year ago and a maker of license plate readers. It has faced criticism for allowing federal authorities access to its massive network of nationwide license plate readers and databases at a time when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are increasingly relying on data to raid communities as part of the Trump administrations immigration crackdown.
Flock cameras allow authorities to track where people go and when by taking photos of their license plates from thousands of cameras located across the United States. Flock claims it doesnt share data with ICE directly, but reports show that local police have shared their own access to Flock cameras and its databases with federal authorities.
snip
Merchant reports instances of broken and smashed Flock cameras in La Mesa, California ... Other cases of vandalism have stretched from California and Connecticut, to Illinois and Virginia. In Oregon, six license plate scanning cameras on poles were cut down and at least one spray painted. A note left at the base of the severed poles said, Hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks, reports Merchant.
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Americans are destroying Flock surveillance cameras (Original Post)
usonian
10 hrs ago
OP
Both the company and the governments which use the company constantly violate
RockRaven
10 hrs ago
#2
CaliforniaPeggy
(156,449 posts)1. And they deserve to be wrecked. Sharing this data is wrong.
RockRaven
(19,028 posts)2. Both the company and the governments which use the company constantly violate
their stated rules/policies around privacy/data usage. Neither the company nor the law enforcement nor the elected civilians keep their word about what they will do or allow. Multiple municipalities in my area have been in the news as case examples of such.
So, when it comes to the topic of this article... "Quelle surprise"
bucolic_frolic
(54,721 posts)3. There's a little Boston Tea Party in most American DNA /nt
Prairie Gates
(7,671 posts)4. Sabotage is nonviolent
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Duncan Grant
(8,911 posts)5. My internet footprint hasn't alerted me to Blood In The Machine.
Tech isnt my wheelhouse, but I enjoyed reading Blood in the Machine (BITM). I cant believe this is the first time Ive heard of them. Thanks for posting. BITM will be a good addition to my sources list when looking into current events.