Help Get Flock Out of Your Community | #aclu #flock #shorts | ACLU

Our Take

Credit where it's due: the ACLU is using the format everyone actually watches — a 60-second short — to tell people the blunt truth that most surveillance fights get won or lost at the city council level, not in Washington. That's a message we've been hammering since day one. Flock Safety doesn't install cameras by decree; it sells contracts to police chiefs and city managers who often face zero public pushback because most residents have no idea the cameras are even there, let alone what they log every time a car drives by.

That's the whole game plan these companies rely on: quiet procurement, vague "public safety" marketing, and a public that never shows up to ask hard questions about retention windows, data sharing with ICE or out-of-state agencies, or audit logs. A two-minute explainer from a group with the ACLU's reach can actually move the needle, because it turns an abstract privacy issue into something people realize they can act on this week — public records requests, council meetings, petitions.

If this clip has you wondering whether your own town already has these things bolted to a pole, go check our camera map first. And if you're ready to actually do something about it instead of just being annoyed, our take-action page has the templates and talking points to get a real conversation started at your next council meeting.