DeFlock The Night
The short version: A song called 'DeFlock The Night' turns ALPR resistance into art, proof that the fight against mass surveillance is seeping into culture, not just policy debates.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: The Swivle Project (artists AJ Rocker and Albert Janssen) dropped a track literally titled 'DeFlock The Night.' This isn't a policy explainer or an investigative exposé — it's a song, released through DistroKid, which means the message about license plate readers and camera networks is now circulating in playlists, not just city council minutes.
That matters more than it might seem. Mass surveillance infrastructure like Flock Safety's ALPR network spreads quietly, mounted on poles in neighborhoods most people never notice until they go looking. When the pushback starts showing up in music, it signals the issue has broken out of wonky privacy circles and into everyday cultural conversation. Art has always been a way to process unease about being watched, and a song pointed squarely at 'deflocking' suggests more people are feeling that unease.
We're glad to see the resistance take new forms, but art alone doesn't take a camera off a pole. If this track has you thinking about what's watching your own block, check our camera map to see what's nearby, and visit take-action for real steps you can bring to your city council.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The Swivle Project - Topic, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.