GoKawiilFlock Safety / DeFlock / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
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ZDNET's key takeaways
Flock cameras are tracking vehicles across a shared network.
AI searches, cloud security, access, and false alerts are all risks.
Residents may not know they're installed until they spot them.
By the time I learned that towns all around me in upstate New York had installed Flock "Falcon" cameras, they were already tracking every passing vehicle, including mine. In most of those communities, there had been little warning and no public discussion.
Also: Ring's 'Familiar Faces': Why privacy experts worry it's mass surveillance in disguise
I first noticed them because of what happened in Saranac Lake, a village near me. Residents protested last spring, officials were forced to reconsider, and the village ultimately voted to cancel its contract with Flock Safety. Soon after, the cameras came down.
The same can't be said for many other US towns, where Flock's AI-enabled cameras actively surveil residents without clear consent.
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