Are Flock AI cameras coming to your town?

Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:

1. Which towns are fighting back against Flock AI cameras

2. How left & right political parties are banding together

3. Data corruption from Flock

4. How drivers are wrongly detained by police

5. How Palantir’s Immigration database is powered by Flock

6. Palantir’s origins

7. Future implications of Flock - what can we do about it?

I’ve always been annoyed by flocks of geese. Even though I love animals, I have to admit, my first instinct when I see a loud goose at our local park is to kick it like a football, although I’ve never done it. Why was I so irritated by this animal, more than any other? The resounding answer: their resounding, blaring car horn of a beak. Ultimately geese know what they want, and let the world know it by shouting it to the stratosphere. After a while I started to appreciate geese the more I studied their behavior. Noise pollution aside - they know how to stick together like Spartan soldiers in a shield wall. When geese fly together they form a V formation that creates an additional lift for each bird.

Research has shown that the passage of the leading bird through the air provides an aerodynamic increase in the lift to the bird following behind. This additional propulsion allows them to endure longer voyages, as much as 1500 miles per day. If you’re a hummingbird however, you don’t flock together. You float solo through life, dipping into caches of sugary nectar to keep the mission alive. However hummingbirds are rare - they’re an exception to the maxim of nature, which demands strength in numbers.

Today’s world of artificially-intelligent machines is forming its own hive, which relies upon numbers to sustain its strength. In the technological jungle, the survival advantage is given to the computer network with the most nodes, or devices of data capture. Unfortunately, if power corrupts, then power absolutely corrupts data. This is the unspoken rule of the synthetic Sahara of surveillance, where frightened villagers seek protection from the wild animals on the fringe of society by making a deal - with the devil of data.

How did the home of the brave become the land of the enslaved?

We traded the American dream for this dystopian nightmare when we gave up all our freedom for little security. In the Northern land of the Maple, all has not been tranquil for a very long time. A seething self-hatred in the form of polite niceties boil under the fleece of a fear-stricken flock, hating themselves for not having the will to take a stand in the face of evil. Golf clubs are swung when nooses should be hung, wine guzzled, and the population muzzled by a dependence on a silent government that will not bring criminals to justice. Citizens turn to a bigger Daddy for help as they proudly mount Wi-Fi cameras on their garage to do the work of a shotgun’s yesteryear. White picket fences become invisible barb wires, bitterly shuttering in love with the whispering wind of fear.

In November 2019, Bohdanna and I had our car broken into right in front of our house in Ontario. A few months later, the burglary happened again, as our vehicle was ransacked right in our very own driveway. The police never caught the criminal, and the responsibility fell upon the neighbors to seek justice. There were a few early mornings when I would try to wait for the thieves to strike, but most of the neighborhood watch was outsourced to Wi-Fi surveillance cameras. I remember the reaction of the American populace right after Sept 11 - with calls for nuclear retribution and a heightened police state via the anti-Patriot Act. I vowed never to let fear have its way with me as it did millions of people during those dark American Fall months of 2001.

They say that only criminals “always lock their doors”, which means that honest people don’t constantly think or live like a criminal. In a prosperous society, freedom begets freedom. The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be.

Here in Prescott Arizona, I was canvassing the neighborhood the other day to promote our business, and was amazed by the amount of front doors flung open, with only a screen to protect against the true terrorist of the land - the mosquito. However a new type of tick is encroaching, one that most people don’t know is slowly crawling into the private parts of their life: the Flock camera.

This device is more computer than camera, and is an automated license plate reader (ALPR) that captures images of the rear of vehicles and their license plates, using AI to identify and log data for surveillance and criminal investigations. The official, stated purpose of these cameras are to aid law enforcement to stop crime. ALPR technology has been around since the 1970s, and is only one weapon in the Flock arsenal. Flock’s “vehicle fingerprint” detects not only plates, but minute detail such as vehicle alterations, dents, driving patterns, and political bumper stickers.

 

ALPR was mounted on patrol cars, whereas Flock is mounted everywhere. Over 97,000 cameras currently exist in the US alone, and the software reads twenty billion plates per month across 49 states. Some states aren’t flying with the rest of the startled geese, and aren’t taking so kindly to the ticks in their pond.

Birds of a new feather flock together

The Sedona, AZ City Council paused the Flock program in August after a strong public backlash. Sedona installed 11 cameras owned and operated by Flock Safety in June, with no input or comment period from the public. In August during a special session, Council members said they were concerned over data privacy, and whether information would be used by federal law enforcement agencies.

“The response from the public has been overwhelmingly negative, you know, and it’s pretty rare that we see something that, for different reasons, the people on the left agree with the people on the right.”

~ Sedona Council member Derek Pfaff

Residents of Flagstaff may be following suit. On September 2, the Flagstaff City Council postponed their decision to renew a contract with Flock Safety, which proposed to install 36 cameras throughout the community. Brendan Traschel, a Green Party candidate running to represent Arizona’s 6th legislative district in 2026, initiated a petition “Freeing Flagstaff from Invasive Surveillance,” and is concerned the data can be used for other purposes. Traschel will be hosting a Flock information event at the Coconino Public library tonight, Oct 20th at 5pm.

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Other US cities are loosening the technocratic shackles. On August 26, the City of Evanston, IL and the Evanston Police Department deactivated all 19 Flock cameras. The City is no longer collecting or providing license plate reader data to the Flock network. The Illinois Secretary of State had performed an audit, which revealed deeply troubling breaks in the Flock software protocol.

In Austin, more than 30 community groups, including Electronic Frontier Alliance member EFF-Austin, joined forces to successfully prevent Flock contract renewal. As a result, Austin is pausing its pilot program with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, citing concerns that some of Flock’s federal partners are misusing the cameras.

Left & Right Flock Together

In the political realm, the power behind the throne needs both wings to make the bird fly. Wedge issues like gay marriage and abortion, while important, only divide and distract from the real agenda of human enslavement to a Machine that sucks our emotional data for its lifeblood. Trump wants all of us think that there is a massive crime problem in major US cities, because he needs an excuse for totalitarian force. Is there an immigration issue and a crisis at the border? Absolutely. Does this require AI martial law powered by a robotic flock that leaves bird droppings on the foundations of freedom? Absolutely not.

Many on the left oppose Flock since they don’t want their movement tracked when visiting an abortion clinic, or believe that they may be mistakenly identified as an illegal immigrant by ICE. New documents and court records obtained by The Electronic Frontier Foundation reveal that Texas deputies queried Flock’s surveillance data in an abortion investigation, contradicting the narrative promoted by the company and the Johnson County Sheriff that she was “being searched for as a missing person,” and that “it was about her safety.”1

Whether you agree with the politics, the role of enforcement has always originated with the executive branch of our government, not a Silicon Valley oligarch or corporation that dispenses justice by changing the way the police do their job.

Proponents of Flock may argue that we give up our privacy when we walk in public. I would argue that having our picture taken by someone’s iPhone is radically different than being tracked and traced. Most states require signage disclosing that active surveillance is in progress. Flock cameras violate the 4th amendment, since they are a search without a warrant without probable cause. While many conservatives would typically value personal privacy, liberals are also now realizing how personal data can be weaponized against them. We can thank Trump - he may finally bring the nation together as both sides recognize the true enemy: the all-seeing eye of Palantir’s database.

Flocks of data migrate south

Proponents also may argue that our registered vehicles are government property. However the underlying issue is: who ultimately owns all the data?

Police departments and government agencies pay a subscription fee for access to data, but ultimately all the license plate scans, audio, video, location history, are also owned by Flock since they are given a backup of all information as part of the contract. Flock, not the police, own the physical cameras.

When Flock takes pictures of our vehicles and our movements, this information is sent over cellular networks to Flock’s servers. This is one point of failure, as wireless networks are more vulnerable to hacking than hardwired systems.

The backend processor for Flock is FlockNova, which allows for inter-agency collaboration between municipal police and federal authorities like ICE. A recent investigation by 404 Media revealed that Nova connects information from public records, commercial data brokers, police databases, and even hacked data sets to help law enforcement identify and track individuals more quickly. According to 404 Media, Nova aggregates information not just from legal and open sources, but also from compromised platforms like ParkMobile—a parking app that suffered a major data breach.

The "impenetrable" Titanic of AI

The first and foremost claim of Flock proponents is that this technology will not only stop, but eliminate crime. Unfortunately this software may create more violence and trauma than it will stop. IPVM, a video surveillance research group, found in an independent investigation that license plate readers incorrectly identified states on license plates about ten percent of the time. This means that for every ten cars, one driver may be pulled over in error, potentially at gunpoint. Across the US, there have been multiple incidences were innocent civilians were wrongly targeted by these license plate readers.

In 2020, Brittney Gilliam and her four children were held at gunpoint and wrongfully detained by Aurora, CO police officers who mistakenly believed their SUV was a stolen vehicle. The children, aged 6, 12, 14, and 17 were terrified and lying face-down in a parking lot. Officers handcuffed two of the children and attempted to handcuff the youngest, whose wrists were too small for the cuffs. The officers had acted on incorrect information from a license-plate reader that was actually reporting a stolen motorcycle from Montana, not the Colorado-plated SUV driven by Gilliam. The Aurora police department later settled to the tune of $1.9 million. If a single alert can go wrong, what will happen when tens of thousands of ALPRs are deployed nationwide?

 

In July of 2023, New Mexico police pulled over a twenty-one year old girl and twelve year old sister that she was driving to the park. Officers ordered them out at gunpoint and even handcuffed the twelve year old. The reason? The camera read the “2” as a “7” as a plate, and falsely flagged the vehicle as stolen.

There have also been instances where Flock software was used with malicious intent. A Sedgwick, Kansas, police chief used Flock Safety license plate readers to track his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend’s vehicles 228 times over four months, and used his police vehicle to follow them out of town.

Apart from data crimes of passion, Big Box stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart and others have installed these cameras in their parking lots. Flock’s standard contract grants them an unlimited perpetual license to use their data how they see fit They could easily sell our data to marketers who want to know who shops at Home Depot or sees who visits a urologist so they can advertise erectile dysfunction meds to them. Nothing would legally prohibit this and Flock would not need to disclose this. Since these cameras have gunshot mics installed, it’s safe to presume Flock is capturing audio from our voice as well.

👉 Want to know if Flock cameras are in your area? query this map.

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The All-Seeing ICE

Who owns the sky under which the flock flies? Flock raised $275 million in funding from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The firm was founded in July 2009, with the backing of influential Silicon Valley figure Peter Thiel, who also owns Palantir, a software company that specializes in big data analytics and human tracking. The integration of Flock and Palantir’s ImmigrationOS platform marks a quantum leap in Big Brother’s ability to monitor all individuals’ movements and behaviors.

Palantir Technologies recently secured a $30 million contract with ICE, aiming to develop a system that consolidates sensitive personal data such as biometrics, geolocation, and other personal identifiers from various federal agencies, facilitating near real-time tracking and categorization of individuals for immigration enforcement.

SOURCE [Joey Davis):

“Palantir’s platforms—Gotham, ICM (Investigative Case Management), and the newly expanded ImmigrationOS—are designed to turn the raw material of everyday life into real-time enforcement targets.

Using Gotham, law enforcement agents can:

• Search billions of data points in seconds

• Cross-match DMV, financial, utility, and social media records

• Visualize human networks through link analysis

• Trigger field alerts based on behavior models and “patterns of life”

In ICE’s hands, this becomes something more: a digital dragnet capable of identifying, locating, and flagging anyone for detainment or deportation—even U.S. citizens—without a warrant or probable cause.”

The All-Seeing Phone of Stone

As Frodo and his friends hobbled along on their journey to Mordor, they gave into temptation at one point, becoming drawn by the dark power of the palantir - a crystal that one could use to remotely view another location. The purpose of the stones in general was dual: to communicate with one another, and to see afar. Stones were linked with each other and each could reveal what was near another stone. When a master of these stones looked in it, they could communicate with other stones and anyone who might be looking into them. People of great power could manipulate the Stones to see virtually any part of the world.

Ring partners with Flock & Palantir

The one ring that rules us all - fear, has partnered with Flock. Ring is a wireless-enabled “doorbell” that also has a camera. This camera integrates with law enforcement agencies. Little do homeowners know that their data, or anyone who visits their home, including their secret lover, may be broadcast to local police.

The sleep tracker, Oura Ring, has also recently partnered with Palantir.

Thiel and his band of techno-oligarchs are no stranger to fiction. They understand the myths that drive human nature, and employ their black magic at will. They know that many endlessly stare at black crystal tablets that then gaze back into our hearts and minds with an emotionless algorithm. If we install a wireless camera to monitor criminals, this same device will look into us, and create our own enslavement.

One solution to the security issue is to discard the all-seeing palantir and replace it with a humble stone that only sees our home. For instance, installing a CCTV (closed circuit) camera is ideal, as you are the only owner of the data, and not vulnerable to breaches over a wireless network.

Catching flack

According to Flock’s own contract with government agencies, if there are any mistakes made by the software, Flock Safety is not held liable. The fine print in the contract states that “the customer” (e.g. a police agency) should call 9-1-1 in the case of an emergency, and should not rely upon the software for its services. Yes, you read that correctly.

Flock also refuses to have their equipment independently tested4 by a third party system to verify their claims and effectiveness even though this type of testing is an industry standard. These AI cameras can also easily be upgraded to automatic ticket cameras. If there is another C19-style lockdown, these cameras can be used to penalize anyone who decides to go to the store or visit their doctor.

Warmer days on the horizon

Once again, America stands at a precipice. Flock is still a pilot program in some towns, and public resistance is gaining momentum. In 2023 Illinois passed a bill that banned out-of-state transfer and sharing of ALPR data. Maine banned all license plate readers entirely with criminal penalties for any companies that misuse the data. In 2025 Utah passed Bill 468, which made it a misdemeanour for police officers to misuse data from an ALPR camera.

Even geese must break rank from time to time, so that the V formation can be sustained with a new lead bird. Otherwise the mission fails into a tailspin where there is no direction - only disaster. We may feel like we live in an orderly society, yet we stumble in a wireless wilderness of controlled catastrophe. The only way we can fly out of the metallic maze is by having the courage to go on the 1,000 mile journey together, taken under the wing of our fellow man and woman.

Reaching for the Heavens, may we dare ask: whose flock will lead the way?

 

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