Well guys, Flock just got wings.
Those street-side cameras that are already all across America, what if I told you they’re not stopping there? The same company behind the cameras are now putting autonomous surveillance drones in the sky. And depending on who you ask, it’s either the The future of public safety or the more likely option, the biggest expansion of government surveillance we’ve seen yet.
Now the company’s automated license plate readers have spread across the country creating one of the nation’s largest interconnected video surveillance networks. The drone sits inside a waterproof docking station, waiting for a call, and when a 911 report comes in, The drone can launch automatically and fly up to 60 miles per hour.
Officers don’t even have to be standing nearby. They can deploy it directly from one of these little things, a smartphone.
And this thing isn’t just flying overhead.
It’s got thermal imaging, high definition cameras, and powerful optical zoom. And well, according to Flock, it can even read a vehicle’s license plate from 2,000 feet away. That’s not terrifying at all.
We’re constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on. And we’re using AI to monitor the video.
Well, Flock says that’s exactly the point.
The company claims that its product can help locate missing children, track dangerous suspects, monitor police pursuits, and give first responders critical information before they arrive on scene.
And that sounds great and all, but let’s be real. When you combine autonomous drones with millions of license plate scans and all its bells and whistles, and then you put it in the government’s hand, you obviously create something far more powerful than a typical police tool.
Groups like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation argue this dramatically expands law enforcement’s ability to monitor where ordinary Americans go every day. Because flawed cameras just don’t record suspected criminals, they collect information on virtually every vehicle that passes by.
And when it’s necessary to scare enemies and on occasion kill them.
And concern has grown so much so, it’s made its way to Capitol Hill. Republican Congressman Tim Burchett recently introduced the Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act. The bill would stop federal agencies from purchasing, operating, accessing, or contracting for mass surveillance systems, including flock cameras.
Another lawmaker is taking aim at Flock as well.
Congressman Thomas Massey says he’ll soon introduce legislation cutting off federal funding for cities and police departments that use Flock or similar systems to surveil law-abiding Americans. His slogan? Don’t Flock me.
Because once drones can launch themselves, track vehicles from the sky, streamline video, and connect with one of the largest license plate databases in the country, the question isn’t just what technology can do, it’s who decides when it gets used and who can access it.
Well, those questions remain largely unanswered.
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