Flock Safety Cameras: A More Secure Society or an Invasion of Privacy?

As Flock Safety cameras have sparked privacy concerns nationwide, many major outlets across the spectrum have published opinions and analysis on the issue.

For Context: Flock is an Atlanta-based company that operates over 120,000 cameras nationwide. Last month, the city of Los Angeles cut ties with Flock after a dispute arose over who would control the data their cameras captured. Many other cities across the US have also cut their ties with Flock.

Privacy Infringement: Adriel Perez-Gonzalez of The Daily Caller (Right bias) framed Flock cameras as stifling and highlighted instances such as police "using the database to stalk ex-girlfriends" and "innocent drivers" that were "held at gunpoint over cases of mistaken identity." Perez-Gonzalez said "the central question is not whether a society can become safer by monitoring more of its citizens" but "whether Americans are willing to trade whatever semblance of privacy remains in exchange for safety and call it freedom." She also noted that China has deployed surveillance cameras widely and that "we are not China." Perez-Gonzalez concluded, "There will always be another threat. Another crime. Another emergency. Another reason why the responsible thing to do is to surrender just a little more privacy. And there will always be a politician willing to promise that this is the last concession. It never is."

Safer Streets: In an opinion for The Atlantic (Left), Charles Fain Lehman argued, "Police cameras can help make the criminal-justice system both fairer and less punitive – if we let them." Lehman opened by highlighting that San Francisco rapper Dreamlife Rizzy, who is a convicted felon, has vocally stated he is against the cameras. He added that in addition to "criminals" being "upset" about the cameras, "Flock has become a fixation of the populist right," naming Tucker Carlson (Right) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) as opponents of them. Lehman touted data from Colombia, Sweden, Uruguay, and China that showed cameras lowered crime. He concluded that Flock is "an easy target for populist backlash," and while "some of the concerns are reasonable," eliminating them altogether would "just be foolish."

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