GET THE FLOCK OUT OF HERE

Our Take

Credit where it's due: Gregg didn't write a think-piece or a petition, he wrote a song, and "Get the Flock Out of Here" does what a lot of op-eds can't — it makes the creeping normalcy of automated license plate readers feel as absurd and invasive as it actually is. Protest music has always been a pressure valve for issues that move too slow for headlines but too fast for comfort, and mass ALPR surveillance fits that bill perfectly. Most drivers have no idea a Flock camera just logged their plate, time-stamped their location, and fed it into a database that can be queried by cops, agencies, and sometimes companies far outside their town.

That's the real value of a track like this: it's a cultural flare shot into a conversation that's mostly happened in city council minutes and ACLU reports. Country-rock has a built-in audience that doesn't usually see itself as part of "privacy activism," and that's exactly the audience that needs to hear this message, because Flock's networks are spreading fastest into the small towns and suburbs where "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" still passes for policy. A protest song won't dismantle a surveillance contract, but it can make the technology impossible to ignore — and that's step one.

If the song gets you riled up, turn that energy into something concrete. Check our map to see how many Flock cameras are already tracking plates near you, and head to our take-action page for ways to push back before the next camera goes up.