Bipartisan opposition to Flock cameras has led to communities abandoning the controversial technology.

 

A Flock camera. Politico/AP. 

Bipartisan opposition to Flock cameras has led to communities abandoning the controversial technology. Politico. In July alone, 20 communities have ended the use of the cameras, which track vehicles and record their license plates with AI. Both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the cameras saying that the potential for abuse by the government is too high, though they disagree who the targets would be. Flock says their cameras don't violate civil liberties and help solve crimes, but some local leaders have said the cameras were not as useful as sold. Efforts to expand Flock devices beyond fixed locations, such as by using drones, have increased the backlash. 

My Comment:

The opposition to Flock cameras has to be one of the most bipartisan things I have seen in America today. Nobody seems to like these devices and it's one of the few things that both Republicans and Democrats (and Libertarians) agree about. Everyone hates these cameras. 

Why? I think most people understand they could be used against them. Republicans fear that their travel habits could expose to the government things like trips to church or the gun range. They also fear that such cameras could restrict their freedom of movement if a civil war were to happen. 

The Democrats fear that these cameras could track people leaving the state for an abortion or track folks like Antifa. They also fear that it could be used to track and deport illegal immigrants, despite the fact that the federal government does not use these cameras in the DHS. 

And both sides are right. There was a case in my state where a man was traveling to Michigan and was tracked by these cameras. This was used as a pretext to pull over and arrest him as they claimed traveling to Michigan was probable cause for a stop. He got arrested for marijuana possession, which is legal in Michigan but illegal in Wisconsin. 

And that's just government over reach, these cameras are being abused in other ways. There have been many cases where folks have been tracking their spouses or exes with these cameras. There is no law enforcement excuse there. 

What does get me about Flock is how it seems to have been a final straw when it comes to Americans. Folks hate these things and are aggressively vandalizing and taking them down wherever they show up. Folks are showing up to city council meetings and are successfully lobbying to get these cameras taken down. And there is even talk of jury nullification for the folks taking down the cameras! 

I've got mixed feelings about that. I do view these cameras as a civil rights violation, if they are allowed to continue, do we even have a 4th Amendment right? I know it's generally accepted that you don't have a right to privacy while in public but I doubt the founding fathers would have wanted the government to be able to track your every move. So I am glad that these cameras are getting a backlash. 

But why not everything else? Flock cameras are hardly the only thing recording me when I go to work. There's ring cameras on my neighbors houses, people filming while I drive by, regular surveillance cameras on the highway and my phone is tracking me too. And sure, it's not the government doing those things, but then you get things like Digital ID which has bipartisan support. So if the government tracks your movement, it's a problem, but if they track you online it's suddenly ok? 

Still, I am glad that there is a backlash. America is in the position where we seem to take two steps back for every one step forward and I think people are sick and tired of the way the government is behaving at the local level. It doesn't have to be this way and the opposition to flock cameras is refreshing. 

However, will things actually change? Who knows? For every city that abandons Flock, a few more pick it up. I think it's probably going to require legislation or a major court case in order to actually stop these cameras, and I don't know if there is the political will or a legal argument that will actually end this.