Flock Safety wants to record millions of Americans—but apparently no one is allowed to record them.
The disturbing double standard was revealed Tuesday by Atlanta News First, which found itself in a load of trouble after one of its investigative reporters stopped on the side of the road to film a Flock Safety employee upgrading one of the company’s cameras near his house.
Brendan Keefe—a Peabody-, duPont-, Murrow-, and Emmy-winning journalist—pulled ahead of the Flock Safety site in a marked press van, donned a high-visibility vest, and began snapping pictures. Almost immediately, the Flock Safety employee chucked his equipment into his truck and fled the site.
Keefe tried to tail the vehicle, but his efforts were interrupted by the Milton Police Department, who sent out three police vehicles after the Flock employee summoned them.
“I work with Flock Safety and I’m getting followed, harassed, pretty much, taking video and pictures,” the employee said in a 9-1-1 call obtained by the local news network.
When the operator prompted the employee to provide his name, he opted not to, claiming that he didn’t “want them to hear my full name” on the call “when they get it.”
Taking pictures and videos in public spaces, where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, is protected under the First Amendment. But Flock Safety’s close relationship with police departments across the country seems to have afforded the company protections beyond the scope of the Constitution.
“When you are lawfully present in a public space—such as streets, sidewalks, and parks—the First Amendment generally protects your right to photograph or film anything in plain view, including federal buildings and law enforcement,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Flock Safety deployed its first mass surveillance camera (which was, at the time, an Android phone placed inside a waterproof box) in Atlanta in 2017. Since then, the company has deployed tens of thousands of cameras to record and document the movements of everyday Americans, regardless of whether or not they’re suspected of a crime. That data is then sold to law enforcement agencies, offering them a seemingly infinite porthole into the potentially consequential habits of their countrymen.
In April, the company—and its business model—were valued at $8.4 billion.
In most cases, the cameras were installed without community consent. The company has repeatedly defended its product, claiming that the cameras have provided more safety, and that the cited abuses stem from the way that police use their data, rather than the collective of the data itself.
“Ultimately, I would argue that the whole community is our customer,” Flock Safety Chief Communications Officer Josh Thomas told Atlanta News First.
“Why can’t I opt out? Why can’t the spouse or ex-spouse of a police officer opt out of this kind of data collection on their movements?” asked Keefe.
“Why can’t a person opt out?” repeated Thomas. “It’s because if your car gets stolen, if something were to happen, moreover the government requires you to have a license plate.”
“It’s plain viewing information,” Thomas continued, missing the bitter irony of the situation. “Why can’t you opt out? You can, if you want to opt out of society.”
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