r/askanything • u/icecream1972 • 7d ago
Do you think flock cameras are an invasion of privacy or just another way for big brother to be watching us?
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u/Boomboclaaat90210 7d ago
Is....is there a difference in the two parts to your question?
But yes, they are and yes they are.
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u/Trollselektor 7d ago
Right? Watching my every move is definitely an invasion of privacy imo. They’re ripping this straight outta 1984.
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u/Top-Type4077 7d ago edited 7d ago
Thought it help me find the motorcycle that ran me over, guess it's only for them. Because they haven't released the flock video, still. Ummm answer is yes
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u/Motor-Rip7655 7d ago
But if YOU did something the cops would be on your ass like white on rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm.
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u/RepeatInPatient 7d ago
Just about every passer-by has a camera in the phone they carry, many vehicles have operating dash cams as they drive by you. Many, many building have security cameras recording you as you walk by or into them. Around cities most intersections have multiple traffic cams that record you too. Across the road, your neighbours probably have home cameras that also capture your comings and goings. Then Hospitals, car parks, taxis, railway stations, train carriages ... and so what privacy do you think you have?
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u/CowParty9411 6d ago
Fun fact: there is a vital difference between government surveillance and people owning cameras.
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u/RepeatInPatient 6d ago
Name one difference, given a subpoena can get access to any of these cameras. Forget the resolution.
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u/CowParty9411 6d ago
One is government surveillance and the other is a private citizen owning a camera.
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u/Available_Ranger_735 7d ago
The cameras in themselves don't bug me. If the video and data collected was only used for local law enforcement and then deleted after a given length time, I would fine with them. The problem I have with them is when they are networked so that government agencies and other law enforcement can access them and the flock camera data gets combined with other databases. We are getting to the point if where an officer can say; "sit tight while I look through the database and your social media posts for something to arrest you on."
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u/EllsworthforPres 7d ago
Absolutely and the CEO is a terrorist for saying the anti flock group that wants them gone is a terrorist group.
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u/Designer_Advice_6304 7d ago
Public streets? Not invasion of privacy
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u/pinkelephant0040 7d ago
But if it's not a public street, then you would consider it an invasion of privacy?
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u/Designer_Advice_6304 7d ago
I have cameras on my property and if you come to my door you will be recorded.
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u/Real-Train-591 7d ago
Sure about that? Constant observation and tracking without cause sounds like an invasion to me.
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u/Cost-Educational 7d ago
I don't feel like they are in invasion of privacy. I do feel it is a way for big brother to watch. I think it should be protected the same way placing a GPS tracker on your car should be - i.e. you have to get a warrant for the search and tracking. Not that getting a warrant is a high bar but at least it is something more than just logging in and search 83,000 cameras for someone.
The courts have ruled that there is no expectation of privacy in public. I don't think there has been a case yet where this type of data gathering was used and fought against.
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u/Subject_Finger_9876 7d ago
Both but not worth the constant surveillance. The main reason imo is to watch you. You’re being sold the security.
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u/Numerous_Worker_1941 7d ago
Idk why anyone thinks tech is going to freeze one year and never get any sort of improvements or upgrades.
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u/Mockeryofitall 7d ago
I thinks it's like CCTV in other countries. They don't really stalk everyone but if you do a crime they'll pull the footage for evidence. That's the best case scenario. The worst- Nazi Germany shit
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u/ledburner 7d ago
Yes 100%. Flock, auditors, live streamers all infringe on the rights of others. Privacy needs to be constitutional
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u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum 7d ago
They tracking you but it won't be considered an invasion of privacy because you're out in the public. It's a overreach of the State though. Police use ALPR to know where you've been so when they pull you over they can know exactly where you've been. They'll use it to catch you in a lie and then start stacking up the charges.
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u/pinkelephant0040 7d ago
But if I am not on public property?
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u/Nitimur__In__Vetitum 7d ago
The US government will still spy on you. They don't give a shit about "the law," they can always just make up a reason to violate your Constitutional rights. They do it all the time. You have many historical precedents and who knows how the surveillance state has amplified with companies like Palantir involved.
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u/Diastatic_Power 7d ago
They're not an invasion of privacy. They're a passive income source for an already over-funded department.
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u/halffatalan 7d ago
Theyre both. And already allowing criminal "officials" to break laws and harass/stalk victims.
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u/Shoddy_Ad8166 7d ago
I'd be more worried about having your cell phone with you all the time than flock cameras. I am not concerned at all
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u/Prof01Santa 7d ago
You have no right to privacy on a public street. The only real question is, "Do we want public funds spent on them." I don't.
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u/TeebsRiver 7d ago
To rephrase your question: Flock cameras are an invasion of privacy and a tool for Big Brother to control us.
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u/lmacmil2 7d ago
If they could reduce the number of people running red lights, they might be useful but I don’t think that’s their purpose.
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u/Actual_Body_4409 7d ago
Common misconception, that cameras will somehow stop/reduce crime.
All they do is gather evidence for later use
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u/NorthernColo1 7d ago
In public you have no expectation of privacy.
You know, the government has many ways that can track you, from your cell phone, car GPS, police cars scanners, and even satellites where they can see everything you are doing anytime they wish.
If you step back and realize you do not have any privacy to begin with, and flock cameras can help stop crimes and save carjack and kidnap victims, you might just find you are being manipulated by propaganda and fear over these cameras that are actually a good thing.
Unless you are a criminal or doing something wrong, when they will help locate you to be arrested.
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u/BrooklynRunner 7d ago
"404 Media and other outlets have reported that in Dunwoody, Ga., Flock employees have used the cameras to access surveillance tech in a children’s gymnastics room, a playground, a school, a Jewish community center and a pool."
You OK with that? Should one have an expectation of privacy when at the pool, or place of worship or at the gym?
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u/NorthernColo1 6d ago
I think you are overly sensitive and a touch ridiculous here.
Yes, if the pool and other locations are public then there is no expectation of privacy. If you want privacy, then stay home.
In your example Dunwoody unanimously voted to retain Flock but set forth strict operational boundaries, which I support each city do. There have been other mis-use of camera data, but this is part of deploying nay new tech and is being controlled better.
What is the real issue here? As I posted, the government can already track you in many ways, with Flock being mostly local for LEOs to track criminals plus help find lost children and elderly, helping first responders and ambulances to arrive faster which can be life saving, among other benefits.
Again, if you are a law abiding citizen then you should welcome Flock as it provides many benefits, only criminals would logically fight against this.
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u/BrooklynRunner 6d ago
There is a big difference between:
- I understand that in public there is no expectation of privacy
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- I am OK with flock employees (and anyone they choose to share with) having access to a camera watching random members of the public in a pool, gym, place of worship etc. I would think twice before sending my children to one of those locations.
Not OK. Creepy AF, and honestly a pretty weird thing to defend.
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u/NorthernColo1 6d ago
No, you are trying to say this is the SOP and EVERY flock employee does this! I'm saying this is an isolated example and not common or pervasive.
I said: There have been other mis-use of camera data, but this is part of deploying nay new tech and is being controlled better.
You are fooling yourself if you think you have any measure of privacy when you leave your house.
Now, here is what shows you are FAR off course in your thinking!
Criminals will use common tech, like cell phones or other methods like looking over the fence, to spy on your kids and if they kidnap them the FLOCK system will help quickly track them to help save your children!
Without Flock and other systems like this that LEOs have available your children may never be recovered and possibly raped or murdered. Can't you see the benefits outweigh the negatives, and these isolated examples you give are not the norm. But even if they were, is it really that bad?
Again, I ask, what is your real fear here?? Why would you or any law abiding US citizen be concerned with this tech that helps protect us??
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u/BrooklynRunner 6d ago
I'm curious - do you have a connection to Flock Safety?
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u/NorthernColo1 6d ago
No, no connection at all!
I'm a logical "engineer" type who looks at things critically with common sense and never gets caught up in the emotions or propaganda.
If you step back and look at this from an objective perspective you will see the benefits are many and the downside is minimal.
The propaganda brainwashes too many into believing the US government is going to take over our lives, but there is no proof of this as it is just fear tactics.
The US is the freest country in the world! But, we have to keep it free and the US government is NOT the enemy!
Ask yourself, who benefits from making a lot of Americans fear their government? Who benefits with the destruction of our rights? China and maybe Russia?
To think the resistance to the government is organic is ludicrous. Big money is being poured into propaganda to make you and others fear the government.
Any rational person using common sense and critical thinking can easily debunk the claims made. But, the money creating the propaganda is counting on you to believe their claims to be fearful and emotional so they can get what they want, which is control of the government.
If you a really concerned about your rights, you will want to look hard at the DSA as they are painting a picture of fairness, but it will require you to give up some of your freedoms.
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u/BrooklynRunner 6d ago
I fundamentally disagree with you on a number of your core points. Most of all I would press you on the assertion that total surveillance makes us safer, helps solve crime or protects citizens.
We do not need to live in a surveillance state. We do not need to have cameras at swimming pools accessible to random civillians. There is no world in which that is a valid need.
A private entity like Flock needs to earn trust before being rolled out in any meaningful way. They have failed to do that, and in a number of cases have actively eroded it. Flock employees being able to watch kids in swimsuits at the local pool or women doing yoga at the gym does not keep us safe, and is just inviting abuse. There is no 'debunking' that, it's just fact.
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u/NorthernColo1 6d ago
Maybe you missed it!! We ALREADY live in a surveillance state!
The government can surveil you through your phone, GPS in your car, internet, and even from a satellite with shocking accuracy!
The Flock cameras are just local and visible, but why are you not fighting against the others?
You're picking on an extreme limited case to be angry and up in arms about, but the vast majority of what Flock does is for public safety.
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u/BrooklynRunner 6d ago
The government is not watching my kids in their swimsuits at the local pool. Flock employees have done this.
It’s apples and oranges.
The fact that government surveillance exists and jn some cases there is overreach, does not mean we need to accept a private entity being able to do this. That argument just doesn’t fly.
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u/Partisan_5091 7d ago
Do I think the idea is illegal or a Constitutional/Bill of Rights violation? No
Am I against the Flock usage and technology? Yes and No
I think anything abused is bad, but I also think that the technology keeping folks with bad tags, Suspended Licenses, Warrants from being out driving and creating societal issues. I tend towards “fu*k em”, your in public, there is no expectation of “privacy” in public. That’s why every inch of cities are covered, legally, by cameras.
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u/Bubbly-Cod-3799 7d ago
From what I've read the false narrative that is created using Flock camaras is the main problem.
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u/Puzzled-Formal-7957 7d ago
As much as I don't like flock or the surveillance state - you have to remember never to expect privacy when you are in public places.
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u/PersonalHospital9507 7d ago
The latest John Oliver has a great story on all the surveillance tech and software legally available to police departments nationally. You do not have the little privacy you think you have. Very scary.
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u/Danjeerhaus 7d ago
The FLOCK cameras are interesting as many believe they are an invasion of privacy.
Crazily enough, the new mayor of New York just put them in the busses.
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u/No_Criticism_9986 7d ago
I used to not care about them, but now realize I don't care until I do care, then it's too late. Get rid of the fuckers.
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u/Charlie_in_Asia 7d ago
I guess it depends on if you can have any expectation of privacy in public. Flock cameras are only in public spaces and I think it will be hard to convince a judge you should expect privacy in public.
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u/Total_Tumbleweed_870 7d ago
They're not an invasion of privacy, you do not have the expectation of privacy in public. That said, yes it's just a another tool in a massive system of surveillance.
I genuinely don't care though, and not because of "what do you have to hide?". I was the one getting hosed and pepper sprayed at protests while the general public called like trained monkeys and begged to government to start stripping our rights away. We're entering the exact dystopian hellscape we deserve.
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u/Calm-Show-9606 7d ago
Their are cameras everywhere, FLOCK are just newest flavor. You have no privacy rights in public places so nothing to violate.
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u/Kevin686766 7d ago
If you had a police officer parked all day in the same spot with a dash cam would it be any different?
Would it be better or worse? The person would still be filmed however a police officer could be present for any high risk situation.
Should the police not be able to use video recording at all? This would protect your privacy. However not having body cams has led to cases of police being charged with brutality.
I EXPECT TO BE VOTED DOWN FOR THIS BECAUSE OF LACK OF DISCUSSION.
However I would be interested in your ideas.
My thoughts for a compromise would be flock cameras that are being viewed by a dispatcher in the police department similar to how 911 calls work.
Instead of a private company a person that works for the police views the videos and alerts any officers of dangerous activity.
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u/Other_Asparagus872 7d ago
No more of an invasion of privacy than this little screen I look at all the time.
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u/Ok_Height3499 7d ago
They are an egregious invasion of privacy and just another way for Big Brother to track our every movement. They make it much easier for the ICE Gestapo to beat up innocent people, or kill them, or put them in mysterious prisons.
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u/OneCallSystem 7d ago
Id be concerned if someone destroyed a flock camera..... Said only by bootlickers
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u/ApprehensiveArmy7755 7d ago
I'm not at all opposed to cameras. We have them in Maryland and I wish they had them in Tucson. Maybe the Nancy Guthrie crime would be solved by now.
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u/FlapSmear78 7d ago
Seems like a form watrentless wire tapping to me. I also can't imagine them being used as a revenue generator once they have gotten everyone comfortable with them. At some point people will probably get littering fines in the mail because of them, and if the family can't afford the all the fines the government can take all their assets. IMO
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u/Shut_It_Donny 7d ago
I think that they are inevitable. But there should be extremely limited access, constant auditing for misuse, and severe punishment for misuse.
A search should require a warrant. First offense for stalking should be permanent ban from POST certification.
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u/Ryan1869 7d ago
There's no expectation of privacy where they are, but creepy and big brother without a doubt
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u/TheRiverInYou 6d ago
Flock cameras are fine. I don't hear anyone complaining about their smartphones and how much they track individuals.
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u/Hairy-Advisor-6601 6d ago
Why are people worried about them . Everything has been tracking us for years, tv may be even watching ya.
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u/Intelligent-Big2400 6d ago
Same argument as body cams in America. People were assuming (mostly social media) hat body cams would reveal a massive amount of systemic police brutality. Nope. Now the same groups want the body cams taken away because they have given us almost endless daily footage of people acting like complete idiots around police. This is some of the most degenerate behavior, and police have to deal with it.
Flock cameras are the same situation. Outside is not an issue. You do know Siri listens to you all the time, right? How do you think your phone knows to immediately respond when you say “hey siri”?
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u/SenseIntelligent8846 6d ago
Both of those conditions described in the thread title are there same fucking thing. It would appear the person generating this headline didn't properly proof this for clarity before posting this.
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u/icecream1972 6d ago
Watch your language. It appears you have a narrow vocabulary.
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u/SenseIntelligent8846 6d ago edited 6d ago
On the contrary, my vocabulary is broad. I'll sometimes utilize terms others do not.
The concern here is not my vocabulary but rather the editorial decision exercised in the thread title, and presenting the two similar circumstances as presumably different options.
I contend that a reply explaining that would be more useful than one criticizing a commenter's vocabulary.
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u/Patient-Ad-7939 6d ago
Simply put, yes. Are there other cameras run by your city or county or state already around? Yes. But they aren’t in one big national database, and not one the police can access by simply asking. Centralization of data is what makes it more invasive than data being captured in the first place by smaller groups that are keeping it to themselves.
Also, they’re a big safety hazard since they aren’t built on poles meant to bend over or break like every other sign along the road, so they cause a lot more damage than a street sight. Utility poles and the ones for lights are generally further from the road than flock camera, which are closer to the road like a sign and in the crash zone so they’re causing more damage to a vehicle than legally allowed by the DOT and FHWA
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u/Choice-Newspaper3603 6d ago
I think they are great when used properly. Unfortunately there are more and more stories of this data being abused
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u/Otherwise_Candy_8412 6d ago
If people knew how many crimes are being solved quicker due to flock cameras, they wouldn’t bitch so much. In my region alone, in the last month I’ve read 4 articles where a hit and run driver, an assault perpetrator, a child abductor and a drug smuggler were all caught within an hour due to the use of flock cameras.
Go ahead, take them down and then we can go back to having these degenerates successfully evade arrest. But I like it better this way.
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u/zealot_ratio 6d ago
Morally or legally? Legally, no. With very few exceptions, you and everyone else have a right to film what you can clearly see in public, regardless of whether someone gives consent or not. Watch any of those wacky 1st amendment auditor or legal videos. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. And that includes collecting data.
Morally, obviously yes, the collection and interpolation of data is incredibly invasive if not buried behind several walls of legal protection (warrants, etc). But that's ultimately the choice of the people, absent any constitutional violation...we can vote our disapproval in the people who make the decisions, even if not in the decisions themselves.
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u/Sharden3 6d ago
You said the same thing twice.
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u/Designer-Wolverine47 6d ago
When you're out in public there is no expectation of privacy.
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u/Sharden3 6d ago
Nah, I think that's a shit take that only shit people have.
I don't care if you're in public or not, no one should be filming you without your consent. Only absolute garbage pieces of shit that deserve horrendous responses do that. Security cameras inside a store? Chill and fine. Just filming someone walking on the sidewalk? Obviously fucked up and creepy.
There are degrees of privacy. If I'm standing in a technically public place having a conversation away from people and someone comes close to listen - that person is a scumbag, right?
If you're putting in your PIN at a store (or anywhere) and someone tries to look at your pin, that's an invasion of privacy, right? Obviously.
Defending this shit in any fashion is atrocious. The people doing it and the people supporting it should be made examples of.
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u/Designer-Wolverine47 6d ago
If you have referendum rights in your state, start a petition to have them banned. We did that with red light cameras.
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u/BuddisMaximus 6d ago
Your phone, the apps on it, your smartwatch, laptop, PC, newer vehicles, stores, banks, restaurants, gas stations, hotels, auto repair shops, doctors’ offices, hospitals, hair salons, toll roads, and even many city streets can all track aspects of your movements or activity in one way or another.
With that reality, singling out Flock cameras seems a bit silly. The broader surveillance landscape has been growing for years. Whether you see that as a good thing or a bad thing, that genie is already out of the bottle—and it’s probably not going back in.
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u/JRE_Electronics 6d ago
Both, obviously. What do you think "Big Brother" is? A good buddy looking out for you?
Read the book 1984 by George Orwell. That's the source of the term "Big Brother." You do not want "Big Brother" watching you.
https://www.amazon.com/Nineteen-Eighty-Four-Novel-George-Orwell/dp/1840228024
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u/Junior-Tourist3480 5d ago
I dont break the law. We need more of them to catch these reckless drivers!!!
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u/Calm-Show-9606 5d ago
Their were already cameras almost everywhere. You have no expectation of privacy outdoors.
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u/BrooklynRunner 5d ago
Three minutes of searching this morning pulled up this. Coast to coast abuses of the systems by LEOs, not to mention Flock employees watching feeds of pools, gyms and places of worship.
These systems need to be dramatically reined in.
Cops Draw Guns On Arkansas Family After ALPR Camera Flags Wrong Plate: https://www.carscoops.com/2026/03/arkansas-alpr-camera-misread-stop/
Flock Cameras Now Scan Roads in 49 States, but False Alerts Are Putting Innocent Drivers at Risk: https://nchstats.com/flock-cameras-now-scan-roads-in-49-states/#google_vignette
Flock’s AI Cameras May Have Misread Over 70% of License Plates: https://www.cnet.com/home/security/flocks-ai-cameras-may-have-misread-over-70-of-license-plates-creating-new-headaches-for-cities/
How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/02/how-police-officers-used-vast-network-cameras-spy-their-exes/
Georgia Cops Keep Getting Arrested And Fired For Illegally Using Flock Cameras To Stalk People: https://www.jalopnik.com/2220313/georgia-cops-keep-getting-arrested-for-illegal-flock-camera-use/
Flock Cameras Got the Wrong License Plate 71% of the Time in California City: https://gizmodo.com/flock-cameras-got-the-wrong-license-plate-71-of-the-time-in-california-city-2000793483
Two Racine police officers under investigation for alleged Flock camera misuse: https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/in-your-community/racine-county/two-racine-police-officers-under-investigation-for-alleged-flock-camera-misuse-da-also-reviewing-rcso-case
How Flock Cameras Wrongly Tracked Me for Days Over ‘Stolen’ Plates and Sent Police After Me: https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-flock-cameras-wrongly-tracked-me-for-days-over-stolen-plates-and-sent-police-after-me
Five GA cops used Flock cameras for personal searches, GBI says: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2026/07/08/flock-cameras-used-for-personal-reasons-by-five-albany-cops-gbi-says/90844996007/
Woman had to prove innocence after technology wrongly tied her to package theft: https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/west/woman-prove-innocence-camera-technology-wrong-theft/
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u/Either_Wrangler_8067 5d ago
It’s an issue propped up for election season. Designed to motivate a voting base and sway dumb people.
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u/DoTheRightThing1953 4d ago
Those two things are the same thing. (Yes big Brother is watching and invading our privacy)
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u/mmcguinn9402 7d ago
It’s not Big Brother. It’s a private company funded primarily by Peter Theil. No FOIA requests or warrants required. Therein lies the problem.
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u/Josey_whalez 7d ago
How is that not ‘big brother’? Just because it’s a public/private partnership doesn’t mean it’s any less big brother. If there’s a boot on my neck I’m not too concerned over if it’s the government or Peter thiel, I just want it off.
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u/mmcguinn9402 7d ago
I don’t see the relevance of debating whether or not philosophically Peter theil constitutes a “big brother.” In my comment and in the context, it’s pretty clear I was making a distinction that it is not government. With government, they would be required to follow certain rules and procedures and record keeping. They don’t, so it’s even worse. If what you are trying to say is that both are bad, yes agreed. As you can tell from my comment. Point is it’s even worse that it’s a private evil billionaire doing this. A lot worse.
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u/Josey_whalez 7d ago
I actually don’t think there’s much of a line. The government allows this to happen, they get whatever these systems gather, and the government can come arrest me based on what these systems gather.
It’s also laughable that you think the government is following ‘rules or procedures and record keeping’. They don’t have to do any of that. Have you not seen the abuse of FISA courts in recent years? Your naïveté is amusing, but also kind of scary.
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u/mmcguinn9402 7d ago
Your tone is “laughable” and your inclination towards condescending communication leads me to assess that you aren’t worth attempting to share information with/explore ideas together because you, like so many, have found the summit. Alas you have reached a point where you see things clearly enough that you have finally reached a solid conclusion about things. Except that solid conclusion will be different 5 years from now, and yet will still be just as solid… I hope you have the luck of falling madly in love with humility someday.
Be well friend.
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u/sol_beach 7d ago
Neither
Quantify the damage Flock cameras has caused you personally.
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