Columbia County community members launch Get the Flock Out campaign

Our Take

Credit to WTEN for covering this one, because local pushback stories like Columbia County's "Get the Flock Out" campaign rarely get airtime outside of community Facebook groups and county meeting minutes. When neighbors start organizing specifically to remove cameras that are already installed, it's a signal that the usual sales pitch — "it's just for solving crimes" — isn't holding up once people realize what these networks actually log: every plate, every driver, every trip, timestamped and stored, searchable by any agency with access.

What makes these grassroots efforts matter is that they're often the only check on a system with almost no independent oversight. Flock contracts get approved quietly by a handful of officials, usually with little public comment, and by the time residents learn the extent of the tracking, the hardware is already bolted to the pole. Columbia County's campaign is a reminder that local pressure — showing up to town board meetings, filing public records requests, asking hard questions about data retention and sharing — is still one of the most effective tools communities have.

If you want to see whether your own neighborhood has been quietly wired up, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back like Columbia County is doing, our take-action page has concrete steps to get started.