Flock Safety Convenetion hacked by Journalists worth a look
The short version: A mass-surveillance-focused YouTube channel flags reports of journalists breaching Flock Safety's own convention, underscoring how little outside scrutiny these ALPR networks normally get.
Our Take
The channel Digital ID, Mass Surveillance and Digital Currency is pointing viewers to reporting that journalists managed to get inside Flock Safety's own convention — the kind of access the company doesn't exactly hand out to critics. We can't verify the specifics of what was found, and we're not going to pretend we did independent reporting here, but the headline alone is worth sitting with: a company that runs a nationwide license plate surveillance network, largely free from warrants or public oversight, treats its internal gathering as a space that needs 'hacking' by press just to get a look inside.
That instinct toward secrecy is the whole story with Flock. Local police departments sign contracts, cameras go up on street corners and in neighborhoods, and the data flows into a company-controlled network that can be queried across jurisdictions — often with minimal public debate before installation. When the vendor itself seems more comfortable operating behind closed doors than answering direct questions from reporters, that's a signal, not a coincidence.
We'd rather you not have to rely on journalists sneaking into an industry conference to learn how this technology works. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and if you want to push back on a proposed contract in your town, our take-action guide walks through what to say and who to say it to.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Digital ID, Mass Surveillance and Digital Currency, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.