When Does Public Safety Become Surveillance? #alabama #flock #surveillance #privacy #publicsafety
The short version: CozyUnfiltered asks the right question about Alabama's spreading Flock cameras: at what point does 'public safety' just become a euphemism for permanent tracking?
Our Take
CozyUnfiltered's short take on Alabama's power-pole cameras cuts right to the question that matters: nobody votes on this stuff. Flock Safety's ALPR units just appear on utility poles, quietly logging every plate, every car, every direction of travel, and by the time residents notice, the system's already live. "Public safety" is doing a lot of work as a justification when the actual deployment process involves zero public debate.
That's the real story here, and it's bigger than Alabama. These cameras don't just catch the car that was reported stolen — they build a searchable history of where everyone goes, stored and shared across a network most drivers have never heard of and never agreed to. The line between "solving crimes" and "watching everyone all the time" isn't some future hypothetical; it's a database that already exists in thousands of towns right now.
Credit to CozyUnfiltered for putting a camera in front of the issue instead of letting it stay invisible on a pole. If you want to see how far this has spread in your own state, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back at a city council meeting or public records request, our take-action page has a starting point.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of CozyUnfiltered, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.