Today, the government watches while a third party stalks. In cities across the United States, Flock Safety keeps tabs on people’s everyday lives by monitoring license plates, but how much privacy are we willing to lose for safer streets?
In the shadows sits a black, round camera beneath a solar panel on a pole or traffic light. Flock cameras are an AI-automated license-plate recognition system [APLRs] that can help law enforcement identify vehicles connected to investigations.
Yet, these APLRs are unlike any other security camera. Flock cameras use artificial intelligence to log scratches on cars, who is driving the car, what route they take, how long, and where they go into a database without a warrant.
These cameras have put law-abiding civilians into a database used to track criminals. Innocent people have been taken to court for misaccusations because Flock cameras recorded and reported the wrong vehicle and persons as the culprit.
For instance, Chrisanna Elser, a Denver, Colorado resident, was accused of stealing a package. The officer pulled up a photo of her truck from the Flock Safety AI data center. It turns out the artificial intelligence in the camera misidentified the truck as Elser’s, since the person and vehicle were almost identical to one another. Now, Elser has to fight in court to avoid going to jail. A scary truth about this incident is the power and freedom it provides our law enforcement. The officer in this case was stubborn in believing Elser committed the crime, as he had “proof.”
Flock cameras are not being used for the reason Flock Safety states. In unlikely places where a license plate reader should not be, they are coincidentally there. Schools and parks have reported seeing the dystopian APLRs facing the direction of children. Furthermore, the idea that an unwarranted company has data on every small step you take is disturbing. Quietly, Flock Safety is expanding mass surveillance where crime is not the only regulation being targeted.
“Big Brother” sounds far in the distance, but in reality it is right at our doorsteps. Near my own home, a Flock camera appears on a traffic light pointed at the cars on the street, but is angled toward my bedroom window. When I sent an email to Flock Safety regarding my concerns about being watched in the safety of my own home, I received no response. I do not feel safe with blinds open, knowing that an entity outside of my control looks in on me 24/7.
With the rise of surveillance cameras, the future becomes unsettling. When every breath is cataloged, and every step is tracked, privacy ceases to be a fundamental right and becomes an unaffordable luxury.
Now, imagine the scare when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] agent appears at your job after using Flock cameras to track your location not by license plates alone but by walking down the street. Unfortunately, this is reality for over 4,000 immigrants, according to 404 Media.
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