Deflock hits 100k ALPRs Mapped in USA (opens in new tab)

I don’t think people realize that these devices can even be used that way. I talk with people outside of the tech scene frequently, and they are routinely surprised when I tell them about this sort of capability. The ring doorbell Super Bowl commercial about finding lost dogs was a genuine shock to people! I think there’s a degree of visibility you need to get people’s attention on an issue, and it’s just difficult to see a doorbell as a threat for the average person.

Ring is dead near me. Everyone had Ring doorbells until someone went around with a hammer and fucked them all up.

> Is it just that there's a direct personal benefit with those devices, and people view the trade-off as being worth it?

I think that's mostly it. Basically since Flocks only use is for the systematic tracking of people for use by police and government agencies, it's a lot easier to get people to turn against it. There's just no upside to them that any individual would ever benefit from.

It's sad because if/when Flock dies the death of deserves, the software/infrastructure will likely just get sold off and reapplied to some other deployment scheme like Ring quietly forgoing the big Superbowl Ad.

I so want to push back that all this is too little too late, because the system ,though still distributed , is effectively in place already. But.. I also don't want to be the old guy telling kids not to rebel. After all, being young and thinking ( knowing! ) one can change the world, is what being young human is all about. FWIW, it may well be their version of decss, ows and so on.

On the other hand, come to think of it, despite OWS being broken up by fancy new approaches ( rumor has it, Walls Street got spooked enough to see what effective methods can be employed given that Pinkerton approach would have been frowned upon then ), I don't recall FBI marking the participants in any special way ( please correct me if I am missting anything ).

Bugs me no end that my latest upstairs neighbor (I've been here for 15 years) has a ring on their door which means I have to be in front of it every time I go in & out my own door.

It doesn't matter how thoughtful you are, someone else will be thoughtless for you.

It's not just inputs/sensors but also outputs. It seems like every public space is abused with bright obnoxious digital billboards now the cost is cheaper and cheaper.

There is some push on that too but Flock is sponsored by people's taxes, while ring is someone's personal choice.

Ring did get some pushback when they advertised the "pet finding" feature that folks realized meant would allow anybody to be found.

But overall, being tracked by your _own_ device feels different than being tracked by somebody else's device. Especially when taxpayer dollars are being used for that other device.

Dont forget about Waymo and similar. As much surveillance as flock.

>the most egregious abuses of privacy

wait until you hear about EU's EES

Speed cameras save lives. It's best when they're paired with:

- good publicity (drivers know that speed cameras exist)

- density (high chance of passing a speed camera)

- enforcement of penalties (if fines can be ignored then they lose their deterrent effect)

- portable (so you don't know where they are ahead of time)

They definitely slowed drivers down in San Francisco: data was released proving it.

Surveillance and privacy invasion is profitable, so not ironic at all.

I dunno if it is ironic. Most of us recognize that technology itself is a tool. It can be used in any number of ways including ones in which some portions of the population may disagree with.

You mean those trailers with the blue flahsy lights on them? Those are LiveView cameras. I don't think Flock is trying to advertise where all their cameras are, hence the reason for the map.

near me it’s the Hone Depot, not Lowes, that has the flocks

It builds a map of your life without you knowing. Thousands of cameras snapping your plate over months means someone can piece together that you go to a certain church, a certain doctor, a certain bar, or a certain person's house. You never agreed to that, and you can't see it happening.

There's no warrant and often no real oversight. Normally police need a judge's permission (a warrant) to track someone. Flock can let them search where your car has been without that step, which is why people call it "warrantless surveillance." And it's been misused: several towns like Oshkosh and Appleton canceled their Flock contracts over privacy concerns and several incidents of misuse by law enforcement.

You don't control the data, and the rules can change. This is a big one. When Brookings agreed to install the cameras, the city was promised it would own the data, that retention would be temporary, and that Flock would not sell the information, with the contract stating Flock does not own and shall not sell customer data. Then in February 2026 Flock rewrote its terms, granting itself a perpetual, irrevocable license to use and disclose all customer data, and deleted the promise not to sell that data. So data collected about you can outlive the promises that were made when the camera went up.

https://www.wbay.com/2026/05/12/local-communities-cancel-flo... https://www.brookingsregister.com/2026/05/22/letter-to-the-e...

They aren’t and no one legitimately did. This is extrajudicial surveillance state stuff