Etchaskej | Ed Choi against FLOCK cameras. Is it because he's a reckless driver endangering lives?
The short version: A YouTuber attacks ALPR critic Ed Choi's driving record instead of addressing the actual surveillance concerns he raises about Flock cameras.
Our Take
Sketchy Ed's video is a textbook deflection: instead of engaging with why someone might object to a network of automated license plate readers logging every car that passes, it goes after the critic's personal driving habits. That's not a rebuttal to mass surveillance concerns, it's a distraction from them. Whether Ed Choi drives one-handed on the freeway has nothing to do with whether Flock's cameras should be allowed to build a searchable database of where everyone goes, when, and how often.
This is a common move in the ALPR debate: make the fight about the messenger instead of the system. Flock's technology doesn't get safer or less invasive because one of its critics has a bad driving record, and it doesn't become more dangerous because that critic is well-behaved. The actual questions remain the same for everyone, reckless drivers and cautious ones alike: who has access to this location data, how long is it kept, what agencies can query it without a warrant, and what happens when it's breached or misused.
If you want to skip the personality fights and look at what's actually been deployed near you, check out our camera map. And if you're ready to push back on ALPR expansion in your own community regardless of who's making the YouTube videos, our take-action page has concrete steps.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Sketchy Ed, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.