Flock cameras capture tons of traffic data. Now protestors are taking them down
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Law enforcement around the country are finding Flock traffic cameras smashed, cut off from their power sources or simply whisked away. Minnesota is part of the trend.
Vandalism and thefts of Flock cameras have occurred in Duluth, Edina, Faribault and Winona. The city of Minneapolis put out a statement that their city-owned traffic cameras are not owned by Flock. Still, Minneapolis police said in the last month they’ve had a traffic camera stolen, and one had paint thrown on it.
The cameras use artificial intelligence to scan license plates, bumper stickers and makes and models of cars, compiling all sorts of data in an instant. Civil liberties groups have said the cameras allow police to track individuals’ movements without a warrant. Police have said the data is invaluable for solving crimes and finding missing people.
William McGeveran is the dean of the University of Minnesota Law School and a data privacy expert. He said that across U.S. law enforcement agencies, these cameras are scanning billions of licenses plates a month.
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He said although police should be able to have the information to do their jobs, over-surveillance can be easily abused.
“There's dozens of cases around the country of police officers improperly using it to, for example, stalk girlfriends or ex-girlfriends,” he said. “There's reports that at least 19 agencies surveilled the No Kings rallies that have been happening recently.”
McGeveran said across the country, lawsuits from both liberal and conservative political groups have cropped up in hopes of stemming their use. And he added that cities across the United States have already began removing Flock cameras or competitor’s cameras with similar data-gathering techniques. Columbia Heights voted to remove their Flock cameras in June.
McGeveran said that it wouldn’t surprise him if the stolen cameras are being sold for their parts, but doesn’t believe that’s the motivator behind the vandalism.
“This is a political protest. They don't think the camera should be there, and they decide to take that into their own hands.”
People have tampered with Flock devices in at least four communities in Minnesota this spring and summer.
The Winona Police Department said this week all eight of its Flock cameras have vanished. Police are investigating.
A spokesperson for the City of Edina told MPR News three cameras were spraypainted Wednesday night, though by Thursday morning they were clean and working again. In April and May, Edina police reported smashed devices in three separate incidents. In June, an officer found what he described as glue or spray foam smeared on the lens of one camera.
The City of Faribault has charged a suspect in the theft of one of its 10 Flock cameras in July.
Duluth police reported in June that five Flock cameras were stolen and one was damaged. A spokesperson said the investigation is open.
Sanya Mansoor, a freelance journalist covering tech and civil liberties, said the nationwide pattern amounts to a movement among vigilante-minded privacy activists. For a recent article in The Guardian, she talked with one of them: a masked, Minneapolis-based social media celebrity who goes by “NoMark” on social media.
“He just said, ‘I feel like it’s the right thing,” she said. “While he does see the usefulness in going to city council meetings, he also feels like the pace of that change can be pretty slow and frustrating, which is a feeling that a lot of advocates, I think, are feeling right now.”
Mansoor has seen cases across the country of people taking down cameras and leaving political messages or American flags behind. She’s also seen activists discuss ways to try to skirt vandalism laws by blocking cameras without damaging them. Meanwhile, the company is offering insurance to police departments to cover the cost of replacing or repairing devices.
Flock opponents have had wins in the local policy realm. Mansoor said dozens of cities, like Columbia Heights, have ended contracts with the company. But she said many activists aren’t letting their guard down, as some cities look to a different company, Axon, to replace those contracts.
“There’s now a broader discussion about, do we want these devices in the first place?” she said.
Listen to the full conversation with Sanya Mansoor by clicking the player above.
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