Map reveals massive hidden network of Flock AI tracking cameras across US
People online have been left concerned after discovering that new AI cameras are popping up across the nation.
A hidden network of AI-powered tracking cameras are appearing more and more within communities up and down the US, with a map revealing just where these devices are located.
The news has prompted many people to take to social media to raise alarm bells over privacy concerns, with one user writing on Reddit: “40k/131k new Flock cameras in 3 months, they connect to Palantir data centers some are pointed at playgrounds or public pools they advise police on how to react to flagged incidents & log every person ever recorded into a facial recognition database with files of who was ever detected anytime.”
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Others reacted to the post, with one sharing: “They said it was for license plate tracking. Now it’s facial recognition. How does America just quietly let this become a big brother state?”
Another commented: “They're building the data centers to handle all of this. It's all connected.”
And a third added: “This is so dystopian.”
What are Flock cameras?
The devices are located on various streets across the country to act as automated licence-plate-reader cameras. They work by photographing passing vehicles and use software to identify the licence plate and vehicle characteristics including the make, colour and type, along with the time and camera location.
According to Flock’s website, the firm does not use facial recognition or collect biometric information.
Instead, the company’s system will capture an image of a vehicle in a particular time and location, but will not continuously track the individual, although, if this same vehicle is photographed by multiple cameras then this could be used to show where the vehicle was heading at different points in time.
Police misuse Flock cameras to stalk partners
As reported by the Institute for Justice, there have been multiple incidents where members of the police have misused the Flock security system in order to digitally stalk their romantic partners.
This has reportedly included ‘current partners, exes, and even strangers who unwittingly caught their eye in public’.
Now, the firm is bringing out new measures to protect members of the public, including shortening the length of time recordings are kept.
Speaking to the BBC, Flock founder and chief executive Garrett Langley agreed that the surveillance has taken too long to act over the police abuse of the system.
He went on to say: “Our employees and communities have said loud and clear, they expect companies like Flock to have a stronger point of view as the expert. I resisted that because I didn't want to have that responsibility.”