Darth Vader Roasted Surveillance
The short version: NowThis Impact uses a Darth Vader bit to skewer how Flock's ALPR networks serve police power, not public safety or accountability.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: NowThis Impact found a clever way to make a dry policy fight land — having the galaxy's favorite authoritarian enforcer cheerfully admit that a city's Flock cameras exist to serve 'the police, not the public.' It's satire, but it's pointed satire, because that line captures the actual design flaw at the heart of ALPR programs nationwide: these systems are sold to city councils as neutral tools for crime-fighting, yet the data, the retention windows, and the sharing agreements are almost always locked away from the taxpayers who fund them.
That's not a joke, it's the pattern. Flock's pitch to local governments routinely skips past the parts that matter most to residents — who can query your travel history, how long it's kept, whether ICE or out-of-state agencies get access through data-sharing networks. When a fictional Sith Lord is the one stating the quiet part out loud, that's a sign the real conversation isn't happening in public council meetings the way it should be.
If you want to know whether cameras like these are already watching your street, check our camera map, and if your city is considering a Flock contract, our take-action guide walks you through how to push back before the vote happens, not after.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of NowThis Impact, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.