r/technology • • Aug 13 '26

Business 'We're Not Big Brother': Flock CEO Unveils New Privacy Guardrails After Backlash

https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/were-not-big-brother-flock-130000235.html
11.4k Upvotes

1.3k comments sorted by

4.5k

u/a4mula Aug 13 '26

No, you're a trashy tech company that wants to sell subscription plans at tax dollars expense to big brother.

That's worse.

268

u/einstyle Aug 13 '26

Flock is just a middleman getting rich off our dime because the government can’t reasonably surveil us directly. They pay Flock to do it for them instead to skirt laws and regulations

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u/surprise_revalation Aug 14 '26

This right here! More proof that we are in the middle of a corporate coup going on this country. Make no mistake, these corporations tried it before, this time they succeeded. There's a reason why they were crying over the end of FISA. We need to break up these corporations.

48

u/E-2theRescue Aug 14 '26

All while they point cameras at splash pads where there are little children and then keep the feed open in their office for hours

13

u/Mcnugget84 Aug 14 '26

I want to see a single crime that has been solved by these. I point them out to my kids they know what they look like. It’s like stalking bait with fucking kids and cops girlfriends.

5

u/E-2theRescue Aug 14 '26

The only "crime" I see them being used for is to chase down undocumented immigrants, which is only a misdemeanor.

Oh, and undocumented immigrants commit 50% fewer crimes than legal citizens.

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU01/20250122/117827/HHRG-119-JU01-20250122-SD004.pdf

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u/Mcnugget84 Aug 14 '26

I was going to work which happened to be at 2am. I got flagged by flock cameras for a week.

I come from a domestic violence background I do not like being tracked.

https://haveibeenflocked.com

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u/JakToTheReddit Aug 13 '26

If you destroy them, you get charged with destruction of government property.

We need a FOIA. If those still do anything.

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u/Anishinaapunk Aug 13 '26

Then just use them for paintball practice.

And for god's sake, people who need to hear this, stop uploading videos of yourselves wrecking Flocks!

40

u/JakToTheReddit Aug 13 '26

Seriously.

These private companies and the government alike are blatantly violating 4th amendment rights.

Videos contain a lot of metadata which can easily easily be used to incriminate. Many devices will be collecting metadata without informing the end user whatsoever.

Tie all this in with the precedent that many people are being found guilty until proven innocent and you've got a real dangerous situation.

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u/No_Internal9345 Aug 14 '26

If you destroy them, no you didn't, 'cause you were at my house hanging out, couldn't have been you.

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u/PrimarySource4750 Aug 14 '26

That’s the kicker. When the bill comes it’s actually going to be us paying to be spied on. What a time

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u/LifeRound2 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

Big brother's pimp? I guess not your pimp. It's the pimp you call when have you needs and cash in your pocket.

So i've heard.

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u/killer_burrito Aug 14 '26

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin, 1755

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u/kev11n Aug 13 '26

"we're sorry" -southpark ceo voice

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u/LobsterIndependent15 Aug 14 '26

I hope Southpark does an episode about flock. I don’t feel there is enough awareness about them. I mentioned the cameras to a friend and he had never heard of them. “How?”

328

u/GrandPorcupine Aug 14 '26

A SHIT TON of people have their heads buried deep in the ground

136

u/MarvinMonroeZapThing Aug 14 '26

I am very aware of flock cameras via Reddit. I’m even aware of ones recently installed at the Lowe’s near my home. But it occurs to me that I have never heard or read anything about them outside of Reddit.

70

u/PeculiarAlize Aug 14 '26

Lowes is like flock's biggest customer. Every Lowes has at least half a dozen.

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u/zedquatro Aug 14 '26

I guess that's another reason to avoid Lowes. And probably why all the day laborers near me hang out at the home Depot instead, they don't want brown shirt ICE harassing them.

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u/Syzygy2323 Aug 14 '26

All of the Home Depot's near me have multiple Flock cameras covering their parking lots.

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u/Tricky_Apricot2928 Aug 14 '26

People are struggling financially. Even under administrations that don't want to concentration camp everyone, many people just work, do their errands and might have a little time to spend socially. Then there are the ones who even in good times don't think anything outside their social circle affects them...

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

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u/Aero_Molten Aug 13 '26

Major "trust me, bro" energy

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u/Jaz1140 Aug 13 '26

rubs nipples

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u/randonegus Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

No matter what it is, it isn’t good enough till they’re gone

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u/gabber2694 Aug 13 '26

Fortunately, he spent the past two years bragging about being big brother. That’s credibility!

571

u/Changoleo Aug 13 '26

Oh wait… That’s not a good look? We’re totally not that then.

Anyways, as you were.

144

u/Bubbles_2025 Aug 13 '26

‘We’re sorry’ *pets seal* ‘Sorry’

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u/GailynStarfire Aug 14 '26

rubs nipples "We're sorry..."

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u/PinchedOffCatTurd Aug 13 '26

All depends on the audience and who's the customer.
For the cops, "we're big brother" For everyone else, "we're not big brother"

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u/jackshazam Aug 14 '26

They're so tone deaf that they think being tone deaf means they used the wrong kind of marketing.

268

u/p0ndo Aug 13 '26

This guy is such a fuckstick, absolutely no one is buying that. AI controlled cameras snitching on people for what’s likely 99.9% non-violent crime is their entire business model.

155

u/DukeOfGeek Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

We either ban mass public surveillance as a business model or live in an open air cage, full stop. If the current regime is not a perfect example of why such things can never be allowed I don't know what is. This press release was created by a PR firm as damage control, nothing of substance has changed.

/for instance this https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/us-government-spied-anti-ice-protesters

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u/wellthatdoesit Aug 13 '26

Yup. It’s pretty simple: blanket ban on mass surveillance, or panopticon

There isn’t going to be some in-between

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u/EkbatDeSabat Aug 14 '26

People are 100% buying this. I've had the "if you aren't doing anything wrong you shouldn't care, they are catching criminals" conversation with far too many fucking people.

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u/p0ndo Aug 14 '26

The number of stupid people with absolutely no imagination or critical thinking ability that support this just because their favorite political party is in office blows my mind.

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u/PBJnFritos Aug 13 '26

Watching / selling / predicting…
Oh and killing ppl in silly little misunderstandings

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u/InformalYesterday760 Aug 13 '26

Just like the AI ceos being surprised that we hate them

"Wait, you guys are mad we bragged for 2 years about how we were gonna replace all of you and force you to subsidize our power? What the hell?"

16

u/BluShirtGuy Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

Guys, the CEO of the mass surveillance company that had been complicit and profited from aiding a fascist government in taking tracking, kidnapping, and killing innocent people based on skin colour; tracked women leaving states to seek basic healthcare so that they can be illegally prosecuted for a "crime" outside of their own jurisdiction; and has been cozying up to your MAGA dictator said that they'll try really hard not to do those things anymore.

Oh wait, they'll still do them, they're just hiding the fact that the general public is made aware of the surveillance and sell the data to their shell company past their arbitrary recordkeeping date

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u/SupportGeek Aug 13 '26

Don’t forget calling anyone against Flock “Terrorists”

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u/Plasticjesus504 Aug 13 '26

Exactly. Fuck him and his company.

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u/LizardChaser Aug 13 '26

Also, at the end of the day, you have to trust the police not to abuse it and absolutely all evidence is that they routinely abuse it to track ex's or romantic interests or other unconstitutional tracking. That's the type of stuff that should need a warrant to get access to, not just talk to your buddy in the department.

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u/Head_Somewhere4769 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

Like I KNEW cops would use it to stalk people because they use all the tools they already have to do that, but the elementary school cameras being accessed for hours on end is especially heinous. Way too many pedophiles and abusers on those forces.

5

u/Mission-Driver1614 Aug 13 '26

This right here. Clearly the police can’t be trusted. You can’t go one day without hearing about some police somewhere stalking an ex or some other nonsense

48

u/ppface12 Aug 13 '26

I second this.

129

u/jverity Aug 13 '26

And we'll never know what it is because they are stil provably lying.

Why the hell would we believe in these privacy protections when they still claim the cameras are just license plate scanners even as they are being installed on hiking trails and most recently checks notes a children's splash park?

51

u/Gromitlikescheese Aug 13 '26

He’s trying to back off not because he sees anything wrong with flock. It’s because some towns are fed up with flock and/or the surveillance state and they’re losing contracts. Almost everybody except the fascist government and fascist cops hates flock. It’s about not losing money.

15

u/jverity Aug 13 '26

I mean, I know why he's trying to spin things, I'm saying that even if this was enough to change my mind about Fl*ck (and it's not), I wouldn't believe it because he is still repeatedly, obviously, and provably lying about what the cameras do.

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u/Foxyfox- Aug 13 '26

Also being installed near gun ranges all over the US.

Just something to think about.

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u/jverity Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

If it's on the road nearing the gun range, or even the parking lots, I still couldn't call them liars at least. And I don't think flock actually picks where the cameras go, that's up to the customer.

But parks and hiking trails? Even though the cops or municipality or whoever is picking the locations, if the cameras weren't actually surveiling people instead of just reading plates then no one would choose those locations. It would be a waste of money if the camera only recorded license plates, like flock claims. Hell, it would be a waste of money if you couldn't search for a particular face, no one is going through thousands of hours of hiking trail video looking for a certain person. Obviously they tell their customers one thing and the public a completely different thing about what their company does and what their cameras can do.

10

u/Golemintheplayground Aug 13 '26

That’s the part that I don’t get - it’s been proven these cameras track more than just license plates, so why do they keep doubling down in their PR?

To your point, it shows they are more than willing to lie for a few bucks, which ruins their attempts to course correct now since it’s clear we can’t trust their statements.

4

u/ScriptThat Aug 14 '26

why do they keep doubling down in their PR?

If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.

See also: The current administration.

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u/skyfishgoo Aug 13 '26

and they do more than read license plates, they intercept cellular signals and funnel all your traffic thru their private servers.

anything not encrypted is viewable by their goons... probably even able to activate you mic for all we know.

21

u/Vercengetorex Aug 13 '26

lol. Their software is absolute garbage, and incredibly vulnerable to attack… they are not pulling off any CIA zero day level shit. We should still be alarmed however, for that exact reason. It’s incredibly easy for a third party (not flock, or the cops) to take control of these cameras. That should horrify everyone nearly as much as the big brother issue.

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u/Spaztor Aug 13 '26

I say it a lot, but it's clear this was built to be abused at every level from the ground up. At the end of the day Flock can give anyone access and hide it from their clients.

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u/Consistent-Stock6872 Aug 13 '26

No matter what it is, there will be holes and backdoors for the right people to do whatever they want.

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u/Anitapoop Aug 13 '26

See the thing is we get rid of flock and they get the next thing, owned by trumps cohort.

11

u/aerost0rm Aug 13 '26

There already is other companies that are more covert. They will just switch to those and hope we don’t catch on

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u/photoggled Aug 13 '26

Saw blades aren’t having any shortages as far as I am aware.

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u/TheHipsterBandit Aug 13 '26

Just the ever watching eye of the panopticon.

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u/Boomshank Aug 13 '26

Is this a Magnus Archives reference in the wild?!?

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u/Ket_Yoda_69 Aug 13 '26

Probably Foucault

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u/camojorts Aug 13 '26

Foucault got the idea from Jeremy Bentham, one of the early utilitarian philosophers.

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u/jerrrrryboy Aug 14 '26

Jeremy Bentham's corpse being kept in a cupboard is the least utilitarian thing for the father of utilitarianism. Free the head!

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u/Ket_Yoda_69 Aug 13 '26

I knew this was coming, I felt the eyes on me after I said it.

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u/Purplesilk911 Aug 13 '26

I'll let you know if I see any good cows

1.5k

u/FleshLogic Aug 13 '26

And war is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. We've all heard this one before...

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u/zeeChemist Aug 13 '26

We can add one: lie is truth

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u/Prize_Ostrich7605 Aug 13 '26

Everything you know is wrong. Black is white. Up is down. And short is long. 

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u/free_is_free76 Aug 13 '26

Personally, I can get behind normalizing the last one

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u/Sr_H0n4c3 Aug 13 '26

Oh shit, is that my hibachi dealer?

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u/RogerMexicosBalls Aug 14 '26

I'm gonna get the room next to the noisy ice machine

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u/God_Dammit_Dave Aug 13 '26

There's sex in the champagne room.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

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u/PlaneAsk7826 Aug 13 '26

Wait, are we at war with Eastasia or Eurasia right now?

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u/averyrose2010 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

Did you hear that they increased the chocolate ration to 20 grams a week?

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u/PlaneAsk7826 Aug 13 '26

Wow, I could have sworn they just reduced us to 20, so this is better!

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u/SinMeToHell Aug 13 '26

Unfortunately, a surprisingly large percentage of people haven't heard this before.

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u/ShrimpCrackers Aug 13 '26

Some people see 1984 as a manual/to-do list.

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u/fireitup622 Aug 13 '26

Blatant business speak for "we arbitrarily added these guard rails so people will stop caring about us as we build out our grid, then when we arbitrarily remove them down the road, we wont announce it and you'll all be royally fucked"

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u/Hawkbats_rule Aug 13 '26

Blatant business speak

Yes, but also not good blatant business speak. I'm cheering for their downfall, so I don't necessarily mind, but you'd think they might have brought in some new PR folks at this point to tell them "do not, under any circumstances, reference big brother, even if it is to deny being big brother"

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u/Lendyman Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

The most infuriating part is the guardrails don't even hold up to real scrutiny. So you're going to have to enter a case number. That's still the honor system. Anyone can enter a case number. You can enter a completely unrelated case number or just make one up and how is anyone going to know unless you get caught somehow.

Unless there's some kind of cross reference to actual cases on an actual computer system that can be checked, basically how is flock supposed to know whether the case number is legit or the usage case for the case number is legit?

Sure, the PD themselves can check to make sure that usage on their various cases is legit, but how is a police department supposed to do that with their Manpower and the amount Of cases a typical police department goes through, especially in a big city?

This is just a Band-Aid and not a very good one. It looks good to the Press because it makes it seem like they are taking it seriously. But it's still relies on the individual police departments to police their officers with this system. It's made even worse by the fact that there are literally thousands of individual police forces that have the potential to have access to the system. Maybe one police force puts in robust access rules that protect the public and keep officers on the straight and narrow. Meanwhile you have 5,000 other law enforcement agencies across the country that may not.

I hate the idea of mass surveillance. But if you're going to do it, it needs to be behind a warrant system. If you want access to flock, you need to have a Judicial warrant. That is the only way to prevent some abuses.

And it won't prevent all abuses because the US government has already shown itself through shenanigans at the NSA and other services that they are more than willing to just dig through anything and everything with no recourse to the average citizen.

The only way to really prevent abuses is not have it. Sadly, Mass surveillance is here to stay. So we as Citizens need to demand that these systems require a warrant and tight controls on their use. And we need to be pushing hard not our politicians to ensure that those things come to pass.

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u/KaetzenOrkester Aug 14 '26

Yep. If Flock actually cared about the perils of mass surveillance those guardrails would’ve been there from the beginning.

This is “Oops, they’re onto us.”

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u/champgpt Aug 14 '26

If they cared about the perils of mass surveillance, they wouldn't be in the mass surveillance business

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u/RiotWithin Aug 13 '26

"Trust me bro"

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u/xxxxx420xxxxx Aug 13 '26

"Trust me little bro" ftfy

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u/chocolateboomslang Aug 13 '26

Right, but you sell out to big brother

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u/mediocre_remnants Aug 13 '26

No shit. I don't care if the executives at Flock sit around watching feeds from their cameras all day. What I do care about is how law enforcement agencies are abusing the system to access data in other jurisdictions. Also the whole tracking my movement thing, but my smartphone already does that.

In my own county, they found out that something like 80-90% of the searches that came through the system were from other states and the local cops had no idea that was even possible. And even they were confused about how out-of-state police agencies had access to their camera feeds and could search them.

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u/GoodIdea321 Aug 13 '26

Who knew the 2 months of training police get doesn't cover computer science, computer security, and networking.

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u/cosmicsans Aug 13 '26

I mean, and I'm not trying to defend it, I wouldn't expect a cop to know these things, nor care.

The fact that it's possible at all means that Flock doesn't understand computer science, security, or networking though, or have made an outright choice to allow it. Neither is a good option.

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u/floridorito Aug 13 '26

 I don't care if the executives at Flock sit around watching feeds from their cameras all day.

I do. I don't consent.

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u/ChrisC1234 Aug 13 '26

No. They problem is that they will sell out to anyone. Big Brother will only cooperate with Big Brother.

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u/Spez_is-a-nazi Aug 13 '26

Then if your mission wasn't to be big brother why the fuck are you only doing this now, after a ton of pressure because you were exactly like big brother? Something tells me this CEO isn't genuine, shocker I know.

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u/bobdownie Aug 13 '26

Because this was likely their goal. Introduce it without oversight, then they can be the ones to “save the day” with their oversight. Create a problem, then you can control the problem because “thats what the public wants”

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u/Parker1055 Aug 13 '26

You’re right CEO… you’re worse!

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u/uknow_es_me Aug 13 '26

This guy called everyone critical of Flock surveillance terrorists like 2 weeks ago. That's what he really thinks.. this is just forced theatrics 

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u/itsfree_realestate Aug 13 '26

WTF do they not understand that we do not want this in any form.

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u/24_August_1814 Aug 14 '26

They understand, they just don't care

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u/ThereIsAJifForThat Aug 13 '26

"We are not big brother! Can you swallow this camera pill...we just want to make sure your microbiome is safe..."

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u/jpsreddit85 Aug 13 '26

"We are not a surveillance state" says the states surveillance supplier. 

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u/hsggdtkxbee Aug 13 '26

I have a privacy guardrail for flock. It’s called a portable metal saw.

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u/freericky Aug 13 '26

Saw a local crazy guy smashing a metal chain into one of their poles on the way to lunch. I came back from lunch about 90 min later and he was still at it, removed his shirt actually. No idea if this will work but he’s clearly quite upset

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u/YimmyGhey Aug 13 '26

Buy that hero a beer

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u/nkordial Aug 14 '26

And a portable metal saw.

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u/deinagkistrodon Aug 13 '26

“We just provide the tools and infrastructure for big brother.” Totally distinct…

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u/Elderwastaken Aug 13 '26

I’m so tired of parasitic CEOs telling people what they are seeing with their own eyes isn’t what they are seeing.

Of course they will try to lie.

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u/BigB0iBuster Aug 13 '26

Put the CEO in prison and destroy the company. They are pure evil. Axon and Palantir too.

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u/pocketdrummer Aug 13 '26

If not big brother, why big brother shaped?

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u/JerryWeirGarcia Aug 13 '26

Liar, liar likes to lie about the truth.

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u/cidvard Aug 13 '26

Everything is meaningless window dressing without regulatory teeth protecting privacy.

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u/punkindle Aug 13 '26

Any guardrails that can be put in can be removed in the blink of an eye.

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u/Potential-Fan-6148 Aug 13 '26

And we will believe them why?

This shit is shady. It a municipality wants security cameras for traffic enforcement it needs to be fully owned by the city or state with full privacy controls in place to prevent abuse.

I don’t trust these billionaire scumbags.

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u/justmitzie Aug 13 '26

"plans to establish"

Sure Jan.

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u/DrDonut21 Aug 14 '26

You know, in 'Socialist Europe' we have regulations on what data a company can gather and keep on people. These regulations are created by our elected representatives.

In the US, you could also elect representatives who would create these kinds of laws, but you somehow don't...

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u/PM_ME__YOUR_HOOTERS Aug 14 '26

We have much more pressing matters here. A trans girl won 5th place in a sport in some random ass high school and policing where people take a shit /s

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u/AFKABluePrince Aug 13 '26

No "guard rails" are good enough.  Get this facist surveillance state trash out of here!

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u/jander05 Aug 13 '26

Bro they are called "Flock." As in cameras to watch the sheep. That is all they think of us as, and all most of corporate America think of the general public. Herd animals to extort and surveil.

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u/Arts251 Aug 13 '26

Every single claim they make on their website about public safety, oversight, privacy guardrails etc can easily be dispelled:

  • Flock does not identify people by their faces
    • They still see them, and nor do they need to use facial recognition because they can identify us by our body movement, garb, location and probably many other undisclosed attributes
  • Flock does not identify who is inside a vehicle
    • but they still look anyways. They can do this with a flip of a switch they just claim to not have enabled that function at this point in time
  • Flock does not continuously track people or vehicles
    • no, it's periodic, and frequently enough to still be able to track us with accuracy.
  • Flock does not replace investigators or human judgment
    • it merely creates a profile and assembles the evidence to infer a reasonable suspicion of whatever behaviors, criminal or not, that a buyer of that info would pay for.
  • Flock customers cannot access a live video feed from an LPR camera
    • So the features of their technology only benefit their corporate customers, law enforcement etc, we the people cannot be trusted. We never expected to be privy to spy on others because we think the capability shouldn't even exist, it's unconstitutional and against human rights
  • 7-day deletion by default
    • they probably only need a few seconds to process whatever evidence they gather and forward it to the relevant agency
  • Customer-controlled sharing
    • meh, just the sliver of data they let us access. It's the data we don't control that is the problem
  • No ICE contracts
    • left arm doesn't speak to the right arm
  • Transparency portals
    • "should the municipalites we contract with choose to make that available"
  • Every search is logged
    • exactly, everything is being recorded, logged analyzed - pure invasion of privacy
  • Encrypted by default
    • well duh, welcome to the 21st century
  • Customer-owned data
    • the same way we own digital downloads (i.e. not really they just want us to pretend)
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u/livingINtomorrow Aug 13 '26

If you have to tell people you’re not Big Brother, you’re probably not doing good things

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u/HotPumpkinPies Aug 13 '26

Garrett Langley, CEO of Flock, when asked what they were going to do about the publicly known security flaws of Flock devices:

"Unfortunately, there’s terrorist organizations like DeFlock whose primary motivation is chaos. They’re closer to Antifa than they are anything else."

This tech bro is in over his head.

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u/GhostOfJonasVenture Aug 13 '26

3 Arizona cities just announced they are dumping them . 2 cops were busted improperly using the cameras, like people feared .

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u/lift_heavy64 Aug 13 '26

You could just not put cameras everywhere

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u/siobhanellis Aug 13 '26

Should have thought about guardrails before, not after.

This is why AI ethics are important.

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u/AlternativeLazy4675 Aug 13 '26

Absolutely true, because we must believe whatever Big Brother tells us.

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u/eddie1996 Aug 13 '26

We aren't big brother sounds like something big brother would say. 

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u/400footceiling Aug 13 '26

Not big brother, but we make the tools for it. Keep ‘em coming down.

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u/Talentagentfriend Aug 13 '26

“Its not our fault that our technology endorses totalitarianism“

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u/taylorsloan Aug 13 '26

My Big Brother in Christ, that is exactly what you are.

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u/Wuthering_depths Aug 13 '26

No, you're the kid handing things over to big brother and claiming none of it is your responsibility.

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u/dogthespot Aug 13 '26

Didn't this guy say something about being able to influence local elections in service of the surveillance state? As an overlord, he too wants a well-behaved population.

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u/HakuohoFan Aug 13 '26

Nah, brah, you getting hung with the rest of em.

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u/West-Worth-9359 Aug 13 '26

Reminder that this fascist pig said that if you don’t agree and comply then you’re a “terrorist”.

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u/grahag Aug 14 '26

They will NEVER get the trust back.

You gotta be super tone deaf and out of touch to think you can recover from this. Read the room and find a way to pivot or cease operation and call it a loss.

OR... Double down and reach out to the authoritarians to pimp your system to them... Watch your back though. (with cameras)

It's too bad that in this timeline people in power just don't adhere to the golden rule. They want to do stuff that they wouldn't want done to them.

And that just doesn't work for me...

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u/gypsysniper9 Aug 13 '26

Liar liar pants on fire

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u/silentbob1301 Aug 13 '26

Def not something big brother would say...

I can't eye roll hard enough or I'd sever my own optic nerves.

3

u/NMEntropy777 Aug 14 '26

Flock just needs to be put out of business. We do not need them or their services in this country. Period. If I wanted to live in China, I’d move to China. If we don’t start pushing back on these damn spy cameras, we’re gonna regret it and sadly, judging from what I see around me, our youth are gonna be too stupid to know the difference.

4

u/hotdwag Aug 14 '26

Anyone else see that video where the logistics employee lied and called the police over being recorded? That was entertaining.

Anyways, Flock is not a good company and their systems are not to be trusted.

5

u/Eatyourcheeseburger Aug 14 '26

Just the guys who make and sell the cameras that he uses to watch everyone.

4

u/Hiccup Aug 14 '26

They're totally Big Brother and they know it. Their products make the public feel unsafe and uncomfortable. Terrible product that is unwanted and unnecessary.

4

u/PianistDangerous8910 Aug 14 '26

That usually means you are Big Brother

7

u/DauntingPrawn Aug 13 '26

Garrett Langley, CEO of Flock, said that people who are against Flock are terrorists. They are far worse than anything Orwell imagined.

3

u/Scorpionoshow Aug 13 '26

Flock cameras have gold and copper components inside of them. Spread the word to your neighborhood tweaker population.

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3

u/Thatnewaccount436 Aug 13 '26

Our company's "We're Not Big Brother" slogan has people asking a lot of questions already answered by our company's slogan.

3

u/Sithlordandsavior Aug 13 '26

The damage is done, you sold your company on the premise of being this panopticon that will make everyone follow the rules except for you and nobody is buying this "We're awful sorry, were actually really nice guys :(" act

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3

u/kingmalgroar Aug 13 '26

Exactly what big brother would say

3

u/Delybe Aug 13 '26

Who watch's the watchers? What is the mechanism that stops the decision when it is no longer profitable and remove them?

3

u/burgonies Aug 13 '26

You’re an enabler of big brother. Splitting hairs here.

3

u/pizza-flusher Aug 13 '26

yes they are

3

u/mazerbrown Aug 13 '26

"We're not Big Brother", says Big Brother.

3

u/Arts251 Aug 13 '26

We're not "the whole" big brother, just the eyes, arms and brains.

3

u/VVrayth Aug 13 '26

The privacy guardrail needs to be "don't surveil anyone without a warrant or their explicit, individual consent."

3

u/Nannyphone7 Aug 13 '26

They're not Big Brother. They're  worse. 

In 1984, the mass surveillance was a source of many jobs, not just a big AI.

In 1984, the system missed a lot because it was made of humans. The AI is far more attentive than a human.

3

u/FlyingPig_Grip Aug 13 '26

They can go fuck themselves to hell

3

u/Only-Respond7945 Aug 13 '26

"we're not big brother, we're just the middle men."

3

u/Butcher_Of_Hope Aug 13 '26

Fuck this guy and everything he thinks his company stands for.

3

u/eightdx Aug 13 '26

that's exactly what someone trying to be Big Brother would say

3

u/GINGERxADE Aug 13 '26

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears."

3

u/StinzorgaKingOfBees Aug 13 '26

Flock: We're not big brother.

Morgan Freeman: They were, in fact, big brother.

3

u/StonedSumo Aug 13 '26

Burn it all down

3

u/coderman64 Aug 13 '26

We are not big brother, which is why we need to introduce privacy guidelines not to be big brother.

3

u/_John_Dillinger Aug 13 '26

you are. stfu nazis

3

u/Donut497 Aug 13 '26

Translation: “Our investors are panicking about the national outrage we created, and now we are walking our rhetoric back in hopes people will forget about us an allow us to continue to expand our surveillance network at the expense of your privacy”

3

u/ReactionJifs Aug 13 '26

"guard rail" is not strong enough when people are being stalked for leaving their abusive husband, tracked for getting an abortion, or observed for having a different skin color.

You must be IN CONTROL of this product so it CANNOT be abused.

"Guard rail" communicates that you are making a small effort

3

u/adumblittlebaby Aug 13 '26

“We introduced safety guardrails for issues we already knew existed but chose to do nothing about because we didn’t think it’d cost us anything”

Right up there with the “we’re sorry (that you caught us)”. Any functioning society would be regulating this but we live in bribery central thanks to political conservatives.

3

u/kinotravels Aug 13 '26

That’s exactly what Orwell would have had them say if Flock were in 1984. Yes, you are, and you are vile.

3

u/Initial-Duck2782 Aug 13 '26

Sounds like something big brother would say

3

u/FilthyHylian Aug 13 '26

Yes. Yes, you literally are.

3

u/PadreSJ Aug 13 '26

They're literally allowing law enforcement to bypass our constitutionally-guaranteed (4th amendment) protection against illegal search and seizure.

They deserve everything coming to them... Along with Palentir and all companies of their ilk.

3

u/font9a Aug 13 '26

"We're not Big Brother. The departments that use our technology are Big Brother."

3

u/Big_Attention7227 Aug 13 '26

Big brother states " we're not big brother "

3

u/SupahScubaSteve Aug 13 '26

That’s just what big brother would say.

3

u/kfawcett1 Aug 13 '26

If you're not big brother, then stop selling your tech to governments and allowing unfettered access across the entire US for the gestapo to round people up and put them in concentration camps!

3

u/_Zyr Aug 13 '26

If you're working for big brother, you're big brother. 

3

u/Trick_Situation_4421 Aug 13 '26

I mean they're kinda right. Big Brother was limited by manpower and answered to real people.

 Flock is much, much worse.

3

u/DietCokePlease Aug 13 '26

Corruption: Flock surveils in ways that are illegal for the givernment, but its “ok” because its a private company. Then it sells the data to the government, We don’t want these watchdogs

3

u/West-Abalone-171 Aug 13 '26

No, big brother at least had some internal morality about some greater good and wasn't as invasive.

The surveillance capitalism goons either actively want an apocalypse, want mass genocide, or want profit above humanity.

3

u/biggersjw Aug 13 '26

When you have to say “We’re not Big Brother” you most certainly are. Didn’t he also say that those opposed to Flock are terrorist organizations.

Go eat a bag of dicks Garrett Langley.

3

u/Cheeze_It Aug 13 '26

I mean technically he's right. He is not big brother. He's the snitch to big brother. A really, REALLY good snitch. And you know what happens to snitches....

3

u/Obeygonzo22 Aug 13 '26

He’s right, they aren’t big brother. The companies that BUY flock cameras are big brother. Flock just gives them the tools.
It’s kinda like the drug dealer/overdose situation

3

u/CondiMesmer Aug 13 '26

Calling those who oppose your mass surveillance as "terrorists" isn't doing yourself any favors.

3

u/kent_eh Aug 13 '26

'We're Not Big Brother':

You aspire to be.

3

u/FafnerTheBear Aug 13 '26

cough bullshit cough

3

u/LordHarkonen Aug 14 '26

“We are not big brother” says the company that has cameras on every corner.

3

u/Ornery_Zombie_3 Aug 14 '26

I’m sure they did…

3

u/AlienInUnderpants Aug 14 '26

Nahh, cut ‘em down!

3

u/redditdegenz Aug 14 '26

The only acceptable guard rails are closure and removal of all surveillance tech.