View the full episode transcript.
Flock Safety’s license plate readers have become a flashpoint for a debate across the country. On one side: law enforcement and their supporters, who say the cameras reduce crime and improve public safety. On the other: residents and advocates worried about a creeping surveillance state and the myriad security issues Flock has already been exposed for.
Morgan talks to Bay Area reporters Roselyn Romero and Riley Cooke about the fight over Flock spreading throughout the region, what we still don’t know about how Flock’s data is used and how some residents are finding creative ways to push back.
Guests:
- Roselyn Romero, public safety journalist at The Oaklandside
- Riley Cooke, reporter at Palo Alto Weekly
Further Reading/Listening:
- We Hacked Flock Safety Cameras in under 30 Seconds — Benn Jordan, Youtube
- Palo Alto license plate data searched by hundreds of out-of-state agencies — Riley Cooke, Palo Alto Weekly
- Flock is quietly training Bay Area police to sway city leaders to buy surveillance tech — Roselyn Romero, The Oaklandside
- Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves — Jason Koebler, 404 Media
- Does Flock Safety Keep Women Safe? — Jayme Kusyk, Knock LA
- Police Have Reportedly Used License Plate Readers to Stalk Romantic Interests at Least 21 Times in Recent Years —Christopher Ingraham, Institute for Justice
- Home Depot and Lowe’s Downplay Customer Surveillance Threats — Whitney Curry Wimbish, The American Prospect
- Flock cameras in Hampton Roads surveil Black communities more intensely than white ones, CNU study says — Toby Cox, WHRO
- ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows — Jason Koebler & Joseph Cox, 404 Media
- Who is paint bombing Oakland’s Flock cameras? — Eli Wolfe, The Oaklandside
- Across the US, people are dismantling and destroying Flock surveillance cameras — Brian Merchant, Blood In The Machine
- Has S.F. cracked how to fix the car break-in crisis? Here’s what is driving the decline — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle
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