Flock cameras are crazy

Our Take

Christopher Pearce's video doesn't need a research study to make its point — the title says it all: "Flock cameras are crazy." That instinctive reaction is exactly what we hear from newcomers to this issue every day. Most people have no idea that a private company has quietly blanketed their town in automated license plate readers that log every car, every driver, every trip, and hold onto that data far longer than most would guess.

We appreciate Pearce putting a camera on his own reaction, because that's often how this story spreads — not through a city council meeting nobody attended, but through ordinary people noticing the cameras on their own street and asking why. That question is the whole ballgame. Flock's pitch to city councils is about solving crimes, but the infrastructure doesn't discriminate between a wanted felon and a grandmother driving to church; it tracks everyone, all the time, and shares that data across a growing network of agencies with little public oversight.

If this video made you look twice at the intersection down the block, don't stop there. Check our map to see what's already been documented near you, and visit our take-action page for ways to push back at the local level.