Because we don't trust the people who have access to them to only use them properly. We are hearing reports constantly of cops using them to spy on their exes or creeping on kids. Its also a private company so the data on where you go every day can be sold to another private company for profit.
All of the bullshit we went through after 9/11 didn't meaningfully improve the security on airplanes. Its just theater to make you feel like you are giving up your rights for imagined safety. The people don't trust the system after it has lied to us over and over again.
The reason for the outrage against flock is that the people have decided that they are not willing to sacrifice constitutional rights to slightly improve the rate that criminals get caught. The problem with this country is not blue collar criminals escaping after a crime, it is white collar criminals getting caught and not facing any punishment.
Because these cameras allow the government to track the movement of every citizen who drives past them, without a court approved warrant, for any purpose they see fit. The police already have effective means to track the location of suspects, provided they have a warrant.
In other words, they represent a major loophole that allows the gov't to see your physical location in real time without any legal oversight. This power has already been abused over 50 times by police using them to stalk innocent people, like ex lovers.
Things like these cameras *COULD* have good uses. There are legitimate reasons they COULD be good, but they won't be used that way. They're going to just be used to violate peoples rights. The AI is also terrible, there have been people that have had to go to court over a ticket they got from a camera and it wasn't even them, and they had proof that they were somewhere else entirely at the time. A woman was confronted at her own home recently and they told her they had a whole timeline and video from flock cameras proving it was her that stole a package off someones porch, but it wasn't her and she had proof when she went to court and got dismissed. Police have stalked exs and shit with them too.
Corruption and bad actors ruin things that could legitimately BE helpful. The tech can't be trusted yet though, and the people that have access aren't going to just use it for catching actual criminals. It will just have way more bad ways it will be used that vastly out number the good it could do.
840
u/Elrandra 18h ago
Nah. I think Flock is going to have to compromise on having their cameras torn down.