00:00Today on Forbes, FedEx's secretive police force is helping cops build an AI car surveillance network.
00:0920 years ago, FedEx established its own police force.
00:12Now it's working with local police to build out an AI car surveillance network.
00:17Forbes has learned the shipping and business services company is using AI tools made by Flock Safety,
00:22a $4 billion car surveillance startup, to monitor its distribution in cargo facilities across the United States.
00:30As part of the deal, FedEx is providing its Flock surveillance feeds to law enforcement,
00:35an arrangement that Flock has with at least four multi-billion dollar private companies.
00:40But publicly available documents reveal that some local police departments are also sharing their Flock feeds with FedEx,
00:46a rare instance of a private company availing itself of a police surveillance apparatus.
00:52To civil rights activists, such close collaboration has the potential to dramatically expand Flock's car surveillance network,
00:59which already spans 4,000 cities across over 40 states,
01:02and some 40,000 cameras that track vehicles by license plate, make, model, color,
01:08and other identifying characteristics like dents or bumper stickers.
01:13Lisa Femia, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
01:17said because private entities aren't subject to the same transparency laws as police,
01:21this sort of arrangement could, quote,
01:23leave the public in the dark, while at the same time expanding a sort of mass surveillance network.
01:29Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union,
01:33said it was, quote,
01:42He added, quote,
01:44He added, quote,
01:52FedEx declined to answer questions about the nature of its partnership with Flock.
01:56Spokesperson Felicia Jackson told Forbes, quote,
02:06It's unclear just how widely law enforcement is sharing Flock data with FedEx.
02:10According to publicly available lists of data-sharing partners,
02:13two police departments have granted the FedEx Air Carrier Police Department access to their Flock cameras,
02:18Shelby County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee and Pittsboro Police Department in Indiana.
02:24Shelby County Sheriff's Office public information officer John Morris confirmed the collaboration.
02:29He told Forbes via email, quote,
02:40Pittsboro Police Chief Scott King didn't comment on why FedEx had access to its Flock feeds,
02:45but said the data flow didn't go the other way.
02:48He said, quote,
02:56FedEx is also sharing its Flock camera feeds with other police departments,
02:59including the Greenwood Police Department in Indiana.
03:02This according to Matthew Philenwarth, assistant chief at the agency.
03:07The Shelby County Sheriff's Office confirmed its department had access to FedEx's Flock feeds too.
03:12The Memphis Police Department said it received surveillance camera feeds from FedEx
03:16through its Connect Memphis system,
03:18but declined to confirm if those systems were powered by Flock.
03:22Flock, which was founded in 2017,
03:25has raised more than $482 million in venture capital investment from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz,
03:31helping it expand its vast network of cameras across America
03:34through both public police department contracts
03:37and through more secretive agreements with private businesses.
03:40Forbes has now uncovered at least four corporate giants using Flock,
03:44none of which had publicly disclosed contracts with the surveillance startup.
03:48As Forbes previously reported,
03:50$50 billion valued Simon Property,
03:53the country's biggest mall owner,
03:55and home improvement giant Lowe's,
03:57are two of the biggest clients.
03:59Like FedEx,
04:00Simon Property also has provided its mall feeds to local cops.
04:04Lowe's appears to be doing the same in at least two instances,
04:07sharing with both Shelby County Sheriff's Office and,
04:10per a recent public records request,
04:12the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department,
04:14which is also a Flock customer.
04:17Lowe's previously told Forbes its use of Flock was,
04:21just one example of a multifaceted approach to combat shoplifting.
04:26For full coverage, check out Thomas Brewster's piece on Forbes.com.
04:31This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:34Thanks for tuning in.
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