Anderson County Mayor calls on public to review Flock license plate readers
The short version: An Anderson County mayor is listening to residents who call Flock's ALPR network 'warrantless mass surveillance' — and that pressure is exactly how these systems get rolled back.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: WBIR Channel 10 caught something we don't see often enough — an elected official actually responding to constituents instead of rubber-stamping a Flock Safety contract. When an Anderson County mayor calls for a public review after hearing residents describe the network as a "warrantless mass surveillance system," that's not a fringe talking point. It's the plain, accurate description of what ALPR networks do: log every plate, every trip, every day, with no warrant and often no meaningful oversight.
This is the pattern we keep tracking — cities and counties adopt these cameras quietly, marketed as a tool against stolen cars or Amber Alerts, and then residents discover the system quietly builds a permanent, searchable travel history on everyone who drives through town, guilty or not. A local review is a small win, but it only happens because people showed up and pushed back. That's the leverage point. Councils and county commissions respond to noise, not press releases from the vendor.
If you're in Anderson County or anywhere else wondering whether Flock is already watching your street, check our camera map to see what's been documented near you, and if you want to push your own local government toward a public accounting, our take-action page has the tools to get started.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WBIR Channel 10, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.