Flock cameras being taken down illegally

Our Take

Queen City News is reporting on something we've been watching bubble up for a while: people fed up enough with Flock Safety's camera network to start cutting the cords themselves. We don't endorse property destruction, and we're not going to pretend we know the full legal exposure folks are taking on when they do this. But the fact that an "underground network" exists at all tells you how little trust these systems have earned from the communities they're installed in without a vote, a hearing, or sometimes even a press release.

That's the real story here. Flock cameras get bolted to poles by police departments and HOAs with almost no public debate, then residents find out later that their daily movements are being logged, stored, and shared across a nationwide database. When people feel like the normal channels for accountability — city council meetings, FOIA requests, local reporting — aren't getting answered, some of them go looking for a wrench instead of a microphone. That's not a sign of a healthy surveillance policy, it's a symptom of one that skipped consent entirely.

Credit to Queen City News for putting this on camera instead of letting it stay a rumor. If you want the legitimate route, start by finding out what's actually watching your street on our map, then push back through the channels that don't risk a criminal charge — public comment, open records requests, and local organizing — all laid out on our take-action page.