★ Independent, reader-supported & ad-free · Watching the watchers in all 50 states ★ Support Us
Watch · Our Take

Flock cameras dominate public comment at Jacksonville City Council meeting

First Coast News · 2 months ago

The short version: Jacksonville residents packed a city council meeting to sound off on Flock cameras, and First Coast News caught the pushback ahead of a public forum on regulation.

Our Take

When a city council agenda gets hijacked by public comment on license plate readers, that's not noise — it's a signal. First Coast News captured Jacksonville residents doing what too few communities do: showing up and demanding answers about a surveillance network most of them never voted on. Credit to the station for putting a camera on the room instead of just running the council's press release.

The upcoming Aug. 28 community meeting matters more than most local government dates on the calendar. These sessions are usually where cities decide whether Flock's data-sharing defaults, retention windows, and access logs get tightened — or quietly left as-is while officials point to "community input" they can later claim satisfied. Jacksonville residents pushing back now, before policy gets rubber-stamped, is exactly the leverage point that works.

If you're in Duval County or anywhere else with cameras going up, don't wait for a viral council clip to find out where. Check our map for known Flock locations near you, and use our take-action resources to figure out what to actually say at your own city's next hearing.

This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of First Coast News, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.