Flock License Plate Readers: Difference between revisions
Added a sentence stating that Flock operates on private premises in addition to public ones. |
Under security vulnerabilities, I added an incident where Flock used hacked data in its systems. |
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==Taxpayer impact summary== | ==Taxpayer impact summary== | ||
====Freedom==== | ====Freedom==== | ||
Residents and taxpayers have no mechanism to opt out of Flock's surveillance network. The cameras operate 24/7 in public spaces, recording all passing vehicles regardless of consent. They are also placed on private premises like universities, hospitals, businesses, and neighborhood associations which often share this data with law enforcement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Thomas |date=2024-06-19 |title=FedEx’s Secretive Police Force Is Helping Cops Build An AI Car Surveillance Network |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/06/19/fedex-police-help-cops-build-an-ai-car-surveillance-network/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=Forbes}}</ref> | Residents and taxpayers have no mechanism to opt out of Flock's surveillance network. The cameras operate 24/7 in public spaces, recording all passing vehicles regardless of consent. They are also placed on private premises like universities, hospitals, businesses, and neighborhood associations, which often share this data with law enforcement.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Thomas |date=2024-06-19 |title=FedEx’s Secretive Police Force Is Helping Cops Build An AI Car Surveillance Network |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/06/19/fedex-police-help-cops-build-an-ai-car-surveillance-network/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=Forbes}}</ref> This data can later be integrated into predictive police platforms like Palantir.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rettberg |first=Jill Walker |title=Machine Vision: How Algorithms are Changing the Way We See the World |date=September 11, 2023 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons. |year=2023 |location=Google Books |pages=45-46 |language=English}}</ref> | ||
Unlike traditional security cameras that may be avoided by choosing different routes, Flock's expanding network of over 40,000 cameras makes avoidance increasingly difficult.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deflock.me/|title=Find Nearby ALPRs|work=DeFlock|access-date=2025-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728224453/https://deflock.me/|archive-date=2025-07-28|url-status=live}}</ref> The system uses AI to create ''"Vehicle Fingerprints"'' that identify vehicles by characteristics beyond license plates, including make, model, color, aftermarket parts, window stickers, and roof racks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/surveillance-company-flock-now-using-ai-to-report-us-to-police-if-it-thinks-our-movement-patterns-are-suspicious|title=Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are "Suspicious"|work=American Civil Liberties Union|date=2024|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> | Unlike traditional security cameras that may be avoided by choosing different routes, Flock's expanding network of over 40,000 cameras makes avoidance increasingly difficult.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deflock.me/|title=Find Nearby ALPRs|work=DeFlock|access-date=2025-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728224453/https://deflock.me/|archive-date=2025-07-28|url-status=live}}</ref> The system uses AI to create ''"Vehicle Fingerprints"'' that identify vehicles by characteristics beyond license plates, including make, model, color, aftermarket parts, window stickers, and roof racks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/surveillance-company-flock-now-using-ai-to-report-us-to-police-if-it-thinks-our-movement-patterns-are-suspicious|title=Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are "Suspicious"|work=American Civil Liberties Union|date=2024|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> | ||
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====Business model==== | ====Business model==== | ||
Flock operates on a subscription model charging municipalities and law enforcement agencies $2,500 per camera annually plus installation costs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://campbellca.gov/FAQ.aspx?QID=279|title=How much does a Flock Safety camera cost?|work=City of Campbell|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> Private businesses including Home Depot | Flock operates on a subscription model charging municipalities and law enforcement agencies $2,500 per camera annually plus installation costs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://campbellca.gov/FAQ.aspx?QID=279|title=How much does a Flock Safety camera cost?|work=City of Campbell|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> Private businesses including Home Depot, Lowe's, and FedEx also deploy cameras, sharing data with law enforcement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.404media.co/home-depot-and-lowes-share-data-from-hundreds-of-ai-cameras-with-cops/|title=Home Depot and Lowe's Share Data From Hundreds of AI Cameras With Cops|first=Jason|last=Koebler|date=2025-08-06|work=404Media|access-date=2025-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250823135847/https://www.404media.co/home-depot-and-lowes-share-data-from-hundreds-of-ai-cameras-with-cops/|archive-date=2025-08-23|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Contracts include automatic renewal clauses and limit municipal oversight capabilities, with cities unable to audit system operations or control how other agencies use shared data.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/flock_1.pdf|title=How to Pump the Brakes on Your Police Department's Use of Flock's Mass Surveillance License Plate Readers|work=ACLU|date=2024|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> | ||
====Market control==== | ====Market control==== | ||
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404 Media revealed over 4,000 searches by local and state police for federal immigration enforcement purposes, despite Flock having no formal ICE contract.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.404media.co/ice-taps-into-nationwide-ai-enabled-camera-network-data-shows/|title=ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows|work=404 Media|date=2025|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> A DEA agent was found using an Illinois police officer's credentials to conduct unauthorized immigration searches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unraveledpress.com/a-dea-agent-used-an-illinois-police-officers-flock-license-plate-reader-password-for-unauthorized-immigration-enforcement-searches/|title=DEA agent used Illinois cop's Flock license plate reader password for immigration enforcement searches|work=Unraveled Press|date=2025|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> | 404 Media revealed over 4,000 searches by local and state police for federal immigration enforcement purposes, despite Flock having no formal ICE contract.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.404media.co/ice-taps-into-nationwide-ai-enabled-camera-network-data-shows/|title=ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows|work=404 Media|date=2025|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> A DEA agent was found using an Illinois police officer's credentials to conduct unauthorized immigration searches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unraveledpress.com/a-dea-agent-used-an-illinois-police-officers-flock-license-plate-reader-password-for-unauthorized-immigration-enforcement-searches/|title=DEA agent used Illinois cop's Flock license plate reader password for immigration enforcement searches|work=Unraveled Press|date=2025|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> | ||
===Illegal Camera Installations (2024-2025)=== | |||
In South Carolina, Flock installed over 200 cameras without authorization, leading to a statewide moratorium on new installations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferrara |first=David |date=2024-03-11 |title=A company installed license plate cameras without permission. SC agency wants clear rules |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/alpr-cameras-south-carolina-flock-safety-license-plate-readers/article_787a262a-dbd2-11ee-a901-634acead588b.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=The Post and Courier}}</ref> | |||
In Illinois, a Flock representative allegedly threatened a Department of Transportation official with police pressure when questioned about permit applications.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uprise RI Staff |date=2024-10-23 |title=As Flock Surveillance Cameras Proliferate in Rhode Island, Lawsuit Challenges Their Legality |url=https://upriseri.com/as-flock-surveillance-cameras-proliferate-in-rhode-island-lawsuit-challenges-their-legality/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-2025 |website=UPRISE RI}}</ref> | |||
===City rejections and terminations (2025)=== | ===City rejections and terminations (2025)=== | ||
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In February 2024, Federal Judge Mark Davis denied Norfolk's motion to dismiss a Fourth Amendment challenge filed by the Institute for Justice ( IJ.org ) to the city's use of 172 Flock cameras, comparing the case to Carpenter v. United States regarding warrantless location tracking. Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot stated that the cameras were placed so it would be "''difficult to drive anywhere of any distance without running into a camera."''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insideinvestigator.org/flock-camera-lawsuit-can-move-forward/|title=Flock camera lawsuit can move forward|work=Connecticut Inside Investigator|date=2024|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> View the ongoing case details [https://ij.org/case/norfolk-virginia-camera-surveillance/ here.] | In February 2024, Federal Judge Mark Davis denied Norfolk's motion to dismiss a Fourth Amendment challenge filed by the Institute for Justice ( IJ.org ) to the city's use of 172 Flock cameras, comparing the case to Carpenter v. United States regarding warrantless location tracking. Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot stated that the cameras were placed so it would be "''difficult to drive anywhere of any distance without running into a camera."''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insideinvestigator.org/flock-camera-lawsuit-can-move-forward/|title=Flock camera lawsuit can move forward|work=Connecticut Inside Investigator|date=2024|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> View the ongoing case details [https://ij.org/case/norfolk-virginia-camera-surveillance/ here.] | ||
===Security vulnerabilities (2024)=== | ===Security vulnerabilities (2024-2025)=== | ||
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency identified 7 critical vulnerabilities in Motorola ALPR systems similar to Flock's, including hardcoded passwords & unencrypted data storage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/06/new-alpr-vulnerabilities-prove-mass-surveillance-public-safety-threat|title=New ALPR Vulnerabilities Prove Mass Surveillance Is a Public Safety Threat|work=Electronic Frontier Foundation|date=2024-06-18|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> | The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency identified 7 critical vulnerabilities in Motorola ALPR systems similar to Flock's, including hardcoded passwords & unencrypted data storage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/06/new-alpr-vulnerabilities-prove-mass-surveillance-public-safety-threat|title=New ALPR Vulnerabilities Prove Mass Surveillance Is a Public Safety Threat|work=Electronic Frontier Foundation|date=2024-06-18|access-date=2025-08-23}}</ref> | ||
Lawsuits show that Flock uses hacked data from breaches to develop a product that allows customers to “jump from LPR [license plate reader] to person, “allowing users to much more easily identify and track the movements of specific people around the country without a warrant or court order."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Joseph |date=2025-05-14 |title=License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows |url=https://www.404media.co/license-plate-reader-company-flock-is-building-a-massive-people-lookup-tool-leak-shows/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=404 Media}}</ref> | |||
==Camera Locations== | ==Camera Locations== | ||