GoKawiilProton now hosts free Flock surveillance camera map after legal threats
Proton, maker of Proton Mail and Proton VPN, has taken over hosting of an interactive map tracking Flock Safety's license plate readers and AI surveillance cameras across the US. The tool was created by security researcher Joshua Michael in September and survived a trademark complaint from Flock demanding its removal. Proton says the map counts over 214,000 Flock devices in service, far above the 120,000 Flock itself reported this summer.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Hosting by a privacy-focused company with legal and technical resources could make the map harder for Flock to force offline than when it was run by an independent researcher. The discrepancy between Proton's device count and Flock's own public figures, if accurate, raises questions about how transparent the surveillance company has been about the scale of its camera network. Wider public access to this kind of mapping tool could fuel ongoing debate over unchecked location tracking by law enforcement-linked surveillance systems.
- Proton is now hosting a free interactive map of Flock's license plate readers and surveillance cameras nationwide.
- The map's creator, Joshua Michael, faced a trademark complaint from Flock after publishing it in September, but it stayed online.
- Proton's data shows over 214,000 Flock devices in service, well above the 120,000 Flock reported having this summer.
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Published there as: “A Privacy Company Just Saved the Clearest Flock Surveillance Map I’ve Seen”
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