Foam Takes Down Flock Cameras

Our Take

Credit to NowThis Impact for putting a face on something we hear about constantly from readers: communities blindsided by six-figure surveillance contracts they never asked for. Irmo's council green-lit over $400,000 in new Flock cameras, and within what sounds like days, someone was out there gumming up the lenses with foam. That's not an isolated prank — it's a pressure valve releasing after public input got skipped or ignored.

We're not in the business of cheering property damage, and we'd rather see fights over these contracts won in council chambers than in the dead of night with a can of Great Stuff. But the underlying anger is legitimate. These systems get pitched as quiet line items, funded before most residents even know the vote happened, and then residents discover a private company is logging every plate that rolls through town, indefinitely, with little independent oversight of who gets access to that data.

If Irmo has cameras near you, or you want to see how dense this network has gotten in your own state, check our map. And if you'd rather fight this in a way that doesn't end with you facing a vandalism charge, our take-action guide walks through how to organize before the next vote, not after the foam runs out.