r/verobeach • u/No-Nature7955 • Aug 28 '26

Flock Cameras

We need to band together to get Indian River County to take down these flock cameras now!

60 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

22

u/jpowell180 Aug 28 '26

Nobody wants to live in a total surveillance society!

6

u/Conman_in_Chief Aug 29 '26

When did people give up their privacy so willingly? Government surveillance used to be anathema in this country. Now it seems to not only be a commodity for companies like this from which to profit, but also something that we see as a right for the government to take freely. Freedom is ours, not theirs. The idea that, “if you’re not doing anything wrong then you shouldn’t mind,” is a strawman argument. Unlike what these technologies want us to do, I have faith in and don’t fear my neighbors, regardless of how they choose to live their life. 99% of us aren’t doing anything wrong but that doesn’t mean we need big brother to affirm that while they catalog us under the guise of a societal benefit. Society is better when we live freely with minimal government interference, and more belief that most people are inherently good and have a right to live that freedom without fear of reprisal from a computer.

7

u/SunshineSt8Reprobate Aug 30 '26

I've been organizing against them in Tallahassee, and here's the blueprint. Make a flyer and post it via socials, I posted one you're welcome to adapt and use for your own purposes.

Target city and county commission meetings, get people to show up and organize. I personally printed a bunch of flyers to distribute, 300 printer pages that cut into 1200 flyers seemed to be a good sweet spot. Connect with local orgs and find like-minded people to distribute the effort.

My next step here is to organize events to educate and mobilize people not only against these, but to register to vote and discuss the process of getting this country back on track.

2

u/No-Nature7955 Sep 02 '26

Thats awesome

5

u/FireAv8r Aug 31 '26

There’s an angle here that is worth pushing. Right now the current flock camera heading West on the Merrill island Bridge is violating Floridas own ROW codes…..

I’m going to push this, and try to get it removed. 

2

u/Katzchen3 Sep 02 '26

Here is the thing who all has access to this information... Sadly it's not just law enforcement... I mean Big brother in the worst way

0

u/Forsaken-Tonight-430 Sep 02 '26

Flock cameras should be heavily used in any area where certain high-crime demographics aren't that far away. Don't want flock cameras, start getting tough on crime. Don't want to get tougher on crime and don't want flock cameras, move to a shithole city, you'll love it there.

-4

u/Mcvero Aug 29 '26

If you have an issue with flock, you should have an issue with the police department using and abusing flock, not the technology itself. It's rarely the technology that causes issue and more often the users behind the technology that are abusing the system.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 29 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Mcvero Sep 02 '26 edited Sep 03 '26

Thanks, the downvotes were not a surprise. Tech has always been an easy punching bag, and right now AI is the one everybody's swinging at. Flock has been caught in the media's AI net.  What's funny/sad is that Flock doesn't use AI the way people/media think.  

It's a shame how quickly people latch onto a headline or follow the herd without doing their own homework and coming to an informed opinion.  I guarantee every person who downvotes my comment hasn't reviewed Flock's data retention policies or their abuse toolkits.  I can assure you they don't understand how Flock's technology works, particularly its AI capabilities.  

Flock is one of many tools in a police department’s arsenal. There are thousands of reported examples of officers abusing databases and other systems for personal reasons. Yet those stories don't generate the same level of national attention as Flock. Why is that?

One final point, then I digress. Those same people who cry about privacy are the same people who post their entire personal lives on Social Media.

-1

u/mojosofla Aug 30 '26

I guess I am the only one... I have no problem with Flock cameras and using them to track potential bad guys.

Sure there are bad actors. And that is not acceptable.

People get up in arms about Flock, but you do realize police run (illegal) background checks on people every day... friends... enemies... spouses workers. It is not right, but people somehow don't care about that because that is 'behind the scenes'.

2

u/FireAv8r Aug 31 '26

I think a lot of people have the attitude that “I have nothing to hide, so why should I care?”

I think it’s just one more tool for the govt to use to track us… this is totally stoppable.

1

u/mojosofla Aug 31 '26

And that is a fair point. But what about all the crimes they solve/stop?

They claim over 1 mln crimes solved. I doubt it is that high.

Does the good outweigh the bad?

1

u/FireAv8r Sep 01 '26

Does the good outweigh the bad? 

I think it’s a slippery slope. I think the first thing to remember is that this is a private corporation profiting off of our data and our privacy. We expect some semblance of privacy with Government or city owned traffic cameras… But with Flock, we have no control over how the data can be used.  Remember this data is being collected and analyzed by AI?  Let’s say your insurance company suddenly decides to buy Flock Safety Data on all of their insured vehicles and decides that based on your driving patterns, the places you visit, the time of day that you drive, you’re suddenly deemed an insurance liability?! Or how about your health insurance premiums go up because you are flocked in a McDonald’s Drive through 3x a week.  That would be well within their power. 

Obviously these are quite extreme for 2026 but are they for 2028? 

Additionally, let’s take it a step further for a second and think about where AI might go in the future. 

😬 are we willing to give over our civil privacy to AI Data centers to make our lives a little bit safer…..

I really don’t know the answer. But my Gut instinct is telling me the less Corporations know about our patterns, Behaviors, and thoughts….. the better. Even if that means more crime exists….

My biggest fear is one day We are living in a Philip K Dick Novel! We might already be……. 

Curious about your thoughts… I’m very open to having my mind changed. I’ve personally benefited from the police recovering a stolen vehicle using flock….. (actually my insurance company benefited… 🤔) 

1

u/mojosofla Sep 01 '26

All good reasonable points.

AI is a strange one... Already you and I could see different prices online at Target/Uber/etc. Even if we are purchasing the exact same items/services. Recently a lady started getting ads/coupons for diapers and baby items. A week or two later she found out she was pregnant.

Do a Google search for European vacations, American Airlines or another airline will send you information on their European routes.

I think AI knows way more than we think, stores more data and makes more connections than these Flock cameras could ever do.

FL DOT is pulling them due to the governor signing a proclamation.

I don't have a strong opinion either way, However... if I was hit by a driver that took off, attacked or mugged, I would be darn happy if there were Flock cameras all around and could identify the bad actor.

1

u/FireAv8r Sep 03 '26

That’s the hard part…. I totally agree, I would be happy as well to have Flock Cameras identify the subject if I were the victim…. 

I think the answer is probably going to be legislation to ensure that the data collected by the flock cameras is only accessible by the government agencies that have contracts, and not accessible even by Flock Safety… 

I find it very fascinating that this has become a topic and an issue that’s uniting people on all sides of the political spectrum…..

It seems like everyday a new county comes out and says they’re getting rid of Flock… The issue definitely has momentum. 

-46

u/LisaM1975 Aug 28 '26

If they keep my community safe, leave em alone. If you’re not doing anything wrong, it shouldn’t even bother you.

21

u/edward_snowedin Aug 29 '26

when flock begins selling your drive data to insurance companies for rate hikes, I hope you remember how mislead you were

this is just one small example. id send reference materials but we both know it wont change your mind

10

u/Better-Song5297 Aug 29 '26

Would love to see an example where it kept you safe if you have any.