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Comment by diogenes_atx

3 months ago

Here in Austin, the city council no longer allows Flock ALPR's (automated license plate readers) on city streets, but Home Depot and other businesses still use them in their parking lots, and they scan your vehicle license plate every time you enter and exit the premises. Flock sells its data to ICE and law enforcement.

42 comments

diogenes_atx

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wldcordeiro  3 months ago

Plus they'll position them close to an intersection in the parking lot of a business so they can get around something like the restriction Austin put in.

garrettlangley  3 months ago

[flagged]

  • CharlesW  3 months ago

    Correct. Flock sells cameras and platform access, but gives data from their shared, nationwide surveillance utility to ICE and law enforcement.

    https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/flock-massachus...

    https://www.404media.co/ice-taps-into-nationwide-ai-enabled-...

    https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/surveillance-com...

    • tptacek  3 months ago

      I don't like that this is the case, but you understand that a pretty huge fraction of the country doesn't share your set of political premises that providing data for immigration enforcement is unethical, right? (I do, but that shouldn't matter for the analysis.)

      It seems weird to me to hyperfocus on Flock's role here rather than the role your own local municipalities play in deciding how to configure these things. Not sharing with ICE is apparently quite doable? At least to the point of requiring a court order to get access to the data, which is a vulnerability all online cameras share.

      Later

      s/company/country, thanks for the correction!

      1 reply →

    • potato3732842  3 months ago

      >but gives data from their shared, nationwide surveillance utility to ICE and law enforcement

      I don't think anyone with a network like that can not "give" the contents to the feds for very long without drawing ire.

      2 replies →

  • y-c-o-m-b  3 months ago

    As the CEO of Flock, don't you feel you have more information to offer this community outside of the "we do not sell data" statement you've made over and over? The fact that you do not engage here in the ethical aspects of your product doesn't look good for you and only deepens suspicion that something darker is going on behind your doors.

  • ncr100  3 months ago

    Royal we.

    This is part of the problem with Flock, IMO. Lack of adherence to or support of norms. Psychopathy actualized as a corporation.

    The societal impact of disruption of trust, of personal privacy, is under-appreciated by the corporation. It's concerned with winning profit.

    (Meta) It's an inspecific argument I'm lazily laying out, yes, however the problem is ridiculously obvious.

    We should not have to ask to be respected, and here we are.

    Democratic decline (both the systems and participation in), truth, self respect/understanding of one's own rights ... those qualities are dying at the relentless toxic, ethically under-explored capitalization of our laws and resources. (Especially USA, compare to corporate social responsibility countries, I suspect)

    Tech disruption is amazing to watch, and participate in, like a fire consuming the forest. "But what about the children?"