this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2026
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[–] Pixel_Jock_17@piefed.ca 1 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Not American. What is flock? Is this like a ring doorbell? Are people suggesting to destroy personal property of their neighbours?

Or is this like some government cameras that are in public spaces filming ?

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Or is this like some government cameras that are in public spaces filming ?

It's a nationwide network of cameras used by federal, state, and local governments to track and profile people in public. It doesn't just record, but builds a database of information on every car, license plate, and person that's filmed, so it's seen to be very dystopian.

Even worse, the tech gets it wrong and mistaken identity is common, and it ends up endangering people due to the violent methods US police employ. However, it's privacy concerns that are foremost, because there's an amendment in our country's Constitution that should prohibit this kind of privacy violation.

If you'd like to learn more, I made a YT video on the topic recently.

[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

don't forget how many of them are just straight up creep cameras, installed pointing at childrens pools, playgrounds, peoples homes, etc.

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's a revenue stream for Flock. Allowing members of the Epstein Class to view the stream of children.

[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

explains the millions of hits per month on the cameras.

And this is why calling them “license plate readers” is hugely disingenuous, to the point of being straight up propaganda. The term vastly downplays what they can do. They don’t just scan license plates. They scan nearby devices’ Bluetooth and WiFi signals. They scan faces. They scan gait to determine specific limb proportions. They scan tattoos and birthmarks. They scan bumper stickers, dings/dents, etc… If you walk in front of a camera, it will use every trick in the book to try and figure out who you are specifically.

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Safety+Creep or Liberty?

[–] Pixel_Jock_17@piefed.ca 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wild stuff. That is far worse than I thought was going on.

What a scary timeline and I hope the country and sort out this stuff and reform this type activity.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They're not just cameras. They also log nearby mobile devices. They've gone from a few hundred nationwide to over 100,000 in like 2 years.

[–] GalacticRobot@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Uber is going to start implementing the same thing, so mobile Flock that you wouldn't be able to take down.

[–] njordomir@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Someone could deploy devices that clone signals they hear and replay them at random to poison all the data. But they definitely should not do that.

[–] FLAGSHIP@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Government contracted cameras in public spaces.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Not just cameras. They also have RFID, WiFi, Bluetooth, and probably other crap I don't remember. The idea is that even if the face rec doesn't identify you, they still can by probing for credit cards and mobile devices. Disgusting.

[–] FLAGSHIP@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 week ago

Fair point. I was trying to be succinct, not intentionally vague.

[–] Pixel_Jock_17@piefed.ca 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wow. Thanks for informing me. Stay safe guys

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You're welcome. I hope it's a nice day where you are.

[–] Pixel_Jock_17@piefed.ca 4 points 1 week ago

Canada. Its generally okay here but we do stupid shit like this too, just way less thank flock. I'm sure it'll emerge in some form.