Why America Is Turning Against Flock Cameras | 99 Seconds
The short version: A 99-second explainer captures the growing backlash against Flock Safety's ALPR network, spotlighting real abuse cases like an officer stalking his ex-wife 700 times.
Our Take
Smarter in 99 Seconds packs a lot into a minute and a half, and the case they zero in on says it all: a Florida officer allegedly ran his estranged wife's plate through Flock's system more than 700 times. That's not a hypothetical edge case dreamed up by privacy advocates — that's the system working exactly as designed, just pointed at the wrong target. When the tool is this easy to query and this poorly audited in most jurisdictions, "misuse" isn't a bug, it's the business model.
What the video gets right is framing this as a trust problem, not just a technology problem. Flock markets itself as a public safety helper, and sure, it can flag a stolen car. But a nationwide grid of cameras logging every vehicle's movement is also, by definition, a mass surveillance network — one that any officer, contractor, or hacked account can turn into a personal tracking tool. The gap between "catches criminals" and "tracks ex-wives, journalists, or political rivals" is thinner than most city councils seem to realize when they sign these contracts.
This is exactly why we built our camera map — so people can see how much of this infrastructure is already sitting in their own neighborhood, often installed with zero public debate. If your town hasn't had this conversation yet, now's the time to start it. Check take action for ways to push back before the next 700-query scandal happens in your city.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Smarter in 99 Seconds, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.