'There is room for surveillance': Maine gubernatorial candidates weigh in on Flock cameras

Our Take

When CBS 13 says "there is room for surveillance," that quote alone tells you everything about how normalized this technology has become. It shouldn't be a given that a network of always-on cameras logging every car's movements is just part of modern governance — it's a policy choice, and a costly one for privacy. Credit to CBS 13 for pushing Maine's candidates to actually go on record, because too often these systems get renewed quietly at the town-council level with zero statewide debate.

The real story here isn't the candidates' soundbites — it's that at least three southern Maine towns already looked at Flock's promises versus its track record and walked away. That's a pattern we're seeing repeat across the country: communities sign up during a moment of fear about crime, then start asking who actually has access to the data, how long it's retained, and whether any of it moved the needle on public safety. Usually the answers are unsatisfying.

Maine voters now have a rare chance to make ALPR surveillance an actual electoral issue instead of a bureaucratic afterthought. If you want to see whether Flock or similar plate-reader cameras are already watching your commute, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for a gubernatorial debate to do something about it, our take-action page has concrete steps for pressuring your own town council.