Flock Cameras Catch Criminals. They Can Track You Too.
The short version: A new Hi.Net short lays out the two-sided reality of Flock cameras: useful for catching criminals, but also quietly building a searchable, nationwide vehicle-tracking network.
Our Take
Hi.Net's short cuts through the marketing pitch and lands on the uncomfortable truth we've been documenting for a while: the same ALPR network that flags a stolen car can just as easily flag you, your ex, or anyone a badge-holder decides to search for. The video's citation list is telling—PBS, ABC, and local Wisconsin news all covering the same pattern of quiet contracts, misuse, and pushback once residents find out what's actually been installed on their streets.
That Oshkosh story is worth sitting with. A city council rescinded a Flock contract after finding out they'd been given false statements about the system. That's not a hypothetical slippery slope, that's a documented case of officials misrepresenting what these cameras do and how the data gets used. When a company's own government customers can't get straight answers, the rest of us have every reason to be skeptical of the 'it's just for stolen cars' pitch.
Every one of these cameras builds a permanent, searchable record of where your car has been, and that data doesn't stay contained to the one crime it was supposedly installed to solve. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your route to work, and if you want to push back locally, our take-action page has the tools to start.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Hi.Net., published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.