Before the start of this school year a Flock camera appeared on Fairview Rd. near the Paideia campus, next to the elementary playground and 1509 building. This new addition has drawn attention from students, faculty and parents. “Flock cameras raise privacy concerns because they closely monitor the movements of students, teachers and parents who are not suspected of any crime whatsoever,” says Rama Tridandapani ’27. However, since the Flock camera is technically on the property of the City of Atlanta and not on Paideia campus, it can not be removed.
Flock License Plate Reader Cameras have been appearing all around the United States, including over 5000 cameras in the Atlanta area. According to the Flock website, “A Flock camera is a license plate reader camera built to identify vehicle details that may help generate investigative leads…. Flock cameras are not general-purpose surveillance systems designed to identify people.”
Recent arrests of police officers due to the misuse of Flock cameras sparked some citizens to question how these cameras are really being used. Over 50 United States police officers from states including Georgia, Kentucky, Florida and Texas have been accused of misusing Flock cameras, resulting in most of the officers being fired or resigning.
The “De-Flock” movement in Atlanta, created by Will Freeman, a software engineer and privacy advocate, brings awareness to not only the addition of Flock Cameras to Atlanta streets, but also the AI used in Flock cameras. The movement includes a public De-Flock map called “Flock Hopper,” sharing the location of every identified Flock Camera. In over 36 states, a movement to destroy the cameras has been enacted as a protest to protect the public’s privacy, a right guaranteed under the constitution.
Flock cameras have also been used to solve recent Atlanta crimes. On July 30, a two-year-old was abducted and trapped in a stolen car. Within 15 minutes, Flock cameras were able to track down the car using its license plate number. The child was saved and the kidnapper was arrested. Flock Cameras can help protect citizens, but at what cost?
