This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers

Our Take

Benn Jordan has spent this trilogy doing what Flock Safety and most local governments won't: actually poking at the security of the ALPR network blanketing American streets. If his reporting on this leak holds up, it's a gut-punch confirmation of what critics have warned for years — a system built to watch everyone's comings and goings is only as trustworthy as its weakest access point, and 'weak' is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

Calling it 'Netflix for stalkers' isn't hyperbole so much as branding. Once plate-and-location data is flowing to a system with sloppy access controls, it doesn't matter whether the intended audience is a detective, a data broker, or an ex with a grudge. The whole pitch for these cameras has been 'trust us, it's secure and it's for public safety.' A leak like this is exactly the kind of evidence that pitch was always resting on hope, not architecture.

We'd rather you see the infrastructure yourself than take anyone's word for it, ours included. Check our map to see what's watching your own neighborhood, and head to take-action for ways to push back before your local network becomes somebody else's binge-watch.