Activists disable Flock license-plate readers as backlash mounts

Flock says cameras are public safety tools, not mass surveillance

The first time the activist known as “NoMark” tried to knock out a Flock camera feed, he waited an hour for the perfect moment, pacing in and out of bushes near the pole holding the device, he told the Guardian. “I was just so nervous,” he said.

NoMark, who spoke to the Guardian under condition of anonymity to discuss potentially illegal acts, said he has since taken down more than a dozen cameras and now completes each job in a few minutes. “I’m not afraid to do things if I think they’re right,” he said. “These things are coming up so fast across the country that this is kind of the only way to combat them.”

The Guardian reported it identified at least 33 instances of people damaging, vandalizing, or destroying Flock cameras across 23 states with the explicit message of protesting surveillance. Tactics include “paint bombing” the devices, planting American flags at the scene after damaging them, 3D-printing objects to block the camera’s view, and leaving messages such as “hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks,” the Guardian reported.

NoMark, who has more than 700,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, said he receives dozens of daily messages from people wanting to help or asking for advice, the Guardian reported. He tells them to avoid driving past the cameras, go out late at night, and cover up completely. “Always cover the camera,” he said.

Flock Safety, based in Georgia and valued at $8.4 billion, says its cameras scan license plates billions of times each month in about 6,000 communities in nearly every state. The company said in a February blog post that its automatic license-plate readers (ALPRs) are “not mass surveillance tools” and that it “cannot track vehicles, much less individual people,” the Guardian reported. Flock’s website advertises how the cameras can “stop crime in real time” by alerting officers “the moment a suspect car passes by.”

Flock did not comment directly on damage to cameras but published a blog post in mid-July about helping government agencies respond if a camera is damaged, the Guardian reported. “We’ve planned for it,” the company wrote, adding that protection plans are available for purchase.

The company’s CEO, Garrett Langley, has described some pro-privacy critics as wanting to “normalize lawlessness” and “weaken public safety,” according to the Guardian. Langley recently characterized the grassroots advocacy group DeFlock as “terroristic,” the Guardian reported, but later apologized for that label. In a tweet, he attributed DeFlock’s popularity to his company’s “inadequate response to the questions and concerns that people have about ALPR,” the Guardian reported.

DeFlock has created a crowdsourced map of more than 115,000 ALPRs across the country, the Guardian reported. The organization’s site allows users to see if their license plates have been searched in Flock’s system, get directions to avoid ALPRs, and find upcoming meetings about municipal Flock contracts.

Law enforcement has responded to the backlash. Dozens of state fusion centers — collaborative hubs where federal and local agencies share intelligence about crime and terrorism — circulated memos across law enforcement agencies this summer directing officers to monitor anti-Flock advocacy as part of a directive to protect national security, according to reporting from journalist Dan Boguslaw cited by the Guardian. One report from a Wisconsin intelligence agency calls for increased vigilance and patrols during protests and a “national week of action” in mid-August, and advised local law enforcement to report “vandalism, disruption or sabotage” of ALPRs to fusion centers, the Guardian reported.

The Guardian reported that Santa Clara County supervisors voted in February to end contracts with Flock Safety after concerns that the company enabled unlawful data-sharing between California agencies and out-of-state police. More than 80 cities have disbanded, decided not to renew, or rejected contracts with Flock in recent years, including Austin and Denver, the Guardian reported.

The anti-Flock online ecosystem also features an exchange of tips and strategies, the Guardian reported. One Reddit poster shared a 3D-print file for an object the poster said can help block cameras without damaging them or violating vandalism laws.

NoMark, in Minneapolis, said he believes both political pressure on elected officials and direct action are necessary to achieve change, the Guardian reported. He said he has shown up to city council meetings without his mask but said that approach “does obviously take time, and it’s not always effective.” “The more time you take, the more data they get on people,” he said.