00:00Flock safety cameras were just credited with the tracking down and arrest of this child
00:04abduction suspect in Wake County, North Carolina.
00:07But why are so many Americans outraged by the cameras, to the point where cities are
00:11suddenly boycotting them, and some citizens doing everything in their power to stop them?
00:16I want these cameras off.
00:18It comes as more and more drivers in the U.S. are finding out that they're being surveilled,
00:22whether or not they're suspected of committing a crime.
00:25The controversial cameras that are being used in the widespread surveillance, and which
00:29now blanket the country, have sparked heated outrage, even leading to online movements
00:34dedicated to destroying the rising technology.
00:38Tens of thousands of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, have popped up in cities
00:43and towns nationwide.
00:45The cameras, which are promoted for making us safer, capture images and log the details
00:49of every passing vehicle, including license plates, dents, bumper stickers, and roof racks.
00:56Before sharing the information to a vast database with law enforcement agencies and other organizations,
01:02like businesses, schools, and HOAs.
01:05The largest company at the center of this fast-growing technology, Flock Safety, has drawn intense
01:11criticism over concerns of invasion of privacy.
01:14As more Americans start to take notice and public outrage grows, a new bill has been proposed
01:19to strip federal funding from any local governments or police departments that deploy the controversial
01:25security cameras.
01:27The bill, announced by Representative Thomas Massey, was introduced in an effort to strengthen
01:31the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and government surveillance.
01:37The Kentucky Republican wrote on X,
01:39I'll soon be sponsoring a bill to withhold federal money from municipalities and police
01:44departments that deploy Flock and other-style cameras to surveil law-abiding citizens.
01:49Flock has quietly become law enforcement's go-to surveillance tool around the country and
01:54has already wired itself into more than 5,000 police agencies nationwide, with nearly 90,000 cameras
02:00since 2018, according to DeFlock, an activist group tracking the company's surveillance and expansion.
02:08Flock has said that the cameras are a vital tool in helping modern-day police solve crimes,
02:14recover stolen vehicles, locate gunshots, track fleeing suspects, and issue AMBER alerts.
02:20But critics claim that the cameras serve as the local government's Big Brother-style mass
02:25surveillance, with billions of monthly plate reads flowing into police databases shared across
02:30agencies each month.
02:31The outrage has caused cities across the country concerned with data sharing to deactivate the
02:37cameras or terminate their contracts with Flock, such as Los Angeles, California, Madison,
02:42Wisconsin, and Syracuse, New York.
02:44And for cities who do use Flock cameras, some locals are making their opinions known, like
02:49this St. Petersburg resident who sits in a lawn chair holding a 14-foot-tall sign to block
02:54the views of cameras around the Florida city.
02:57I basically sit on a nice comfortable chair and I have a, oh, it's a 14-foot pole that
03:04I can raise up and put in front of the camera, down with Flock cameras written on it, so that's
03:10what the Flock cameras see.
03:12There has also been a growing movement of anti-Flock vigilantes across the country, vandalizing
03:17the cameras in their hometowns.
03:19Flock Safety has acknowledged public concerns over privacy and claims safeguards are implemented
03:24to ensure accountability for use of the technology.
03:28The company also estimates it has supported more than 1 million investigations, assisted
03:33in 20% of all solved cases and jurisdictions that partner with it, and has helped locate
03:38more than 10,000 missing people to date.
03:41A spokesperson for Flock Safety told the Post that Massey's bill would have real consequences
03:46for public safety.
03:47We do not have to choose between protecting privacy and giving law enforcement the tools
03:51it needs to keep communities safe, the representative added, we can, and should, do both.
03:58do not have to choose from the court.
03:58Do not have to choose from.
03:58Do not have to choose to choose from.
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