Mapmaker activist posts locations of automated plate readers, receives cease-and-desist from surveillance company | EFF (www.eff.org)
from whydudothatdrcrane@lemmy.ml to privacy@lemmy.ml on 26 Feb 20:17
https://lemmy.ml/post/26496926

Flock Safety’s car-tracking cameras have been spreading across the United States like an invasive species, preying on public safety fears and gobbling up massive amounts of sensitive driver data. The technology not only tracks vehicles by their license plates, but also creates “fingerprints” of each vehicle, including the make, model, color and other distinguishing features.

Through crowdsourcing and open-source research, DeFlock.me aims to “shine a light on the widespread use of ALPR technology, raise awareness about the threats it poses to personal privacy and civil liberties, and empower the public to take action.” While EFF’s Atlas of Surveillance project has identified more than 1,700 agencies using ALPRs, DeFlock has mapped out more than 16,000 individual camera locations, more than a third of which are Flock Safety devices.

Flock Safety’s cease and desist later is just the latest in a long list of groups turning to bogus intellectual property claims to silence their critics.

#privacy

threaded - newest

sunzu2@thebrainbin.org on 26 Feb 20:26 next collapse

Parasite big mad the host is fighting back

Uses US laws in bad faith and nothing will be done about it

umbrella@lemmy.ml on 26 Feb 22:04 collapse

that activist is clearly doing something about it by helping make the cameras less effective

sunzu2@thebrainbin.org on 26 Feb 22:09 next collapse

But have you thought about the Parasite's profit?!

This sort of logic is not very cash money of you @umbrella

umbrella@lemmy.ml on 26 Feb 23:29 collapse

i like to think my logic is more fuck the burgeoise than cash money

TrojanRoomCoffeePot@lemmy.world on 27 Feb 03:17 collapse

Any word on local groups destroying the cameras in question, or is everyone just using the info to change their routes instead?

umbrella@lemmy.ml on 27 Feb 04:58 collapse

i think youd need more activists doing such things

vk6flab@lemmy.radio on 26 Feb 21:10 next collapse

What are the legal implications of hosting this information in a different jurisdiction and are there places where this data would be legally protected?

whydudothatdrcrane@lemmy.ml on 26 Feb 21:46 collapse

They don’t even cite the datapoints, my friend. It is a trademark infringement cease-and-desist…

adespoton@lemmy.ca on 27 Feb 02:57 collapse

Thing is about trade marks… if the terms can be shown to be in common usage, the mark is struck down. Like Kleenex and Xerox.

So let’s all start talking about privacy invading cameras as being flocking stupid.

dohpaz42@lemmy.world on 26 Feb 21:20 next collapse

Flock Safety’s cease and desist later is just the latest in a long list of groups turning to bogus intellectual property claims to silence their critics. Frequently, these have no legal basis and are designed to frighten under-resourced activists and advocacy groups with high-powered law firm letterheads. EFF is here to stand up against these trademark bullies, and in the case of Flock Safety, flip them the bird.

Everybody say it with me: 🖕

Kalothar@lemmy.ca on 26 Feb 21:32 next collapse

As stated above the companies name is Flock Safety

And the CEO is Garett Langley

www.linkedin.com/in/glangley

aldalire@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 26 Feb 21:45 next collapse

Target acquired

AtariDump@lemmy.world on 26 Feb 22:27 next collapse

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/20e7dc71-7d03-4b9f-bd67-7d85a8e66e88.jpeg">

warbond@lemmy.world on 27 Feb 00:26 collapse

Most of the time I don’t worry about assassinations because I mostly avoid doing things that make people want to kill me. It’s a decent philosophy that has served me well for decades.

Noerttipertti@sopuli.xyz on 26 Feb 22:55 collapse

Luigi time?

electric_nan@lemmy.ml on 26 Feb 23:44 collapse

We recently prevented our city from contracting with flock. They had a city council meeting that was 50:1 opposed.

steal_your_face@lemmy.ml on 26 Feb 22:21 next collapse

Link for the lazy

deflock.me

AtariDump@lemmy.world on 26 Feb 22:27 collapse

Thanks, that’s me!

surph_ninja@lemmy.world on 26 Feb 22:40 next collapse

I’m so fucking sick of this. We need to outlaw using third party companies to get around constitutional protections. Ending the third party doctrine is just another reason we desperately need a revolution.

x00z@lemmy.world on 26 Feb 23:08 next collapse

Something something land of the free.

electric_nan@lemmy.ml on 26 Feb 23:42 next collapse

Uh if the cameras are in public, they have no expectation of privacy, right?

CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 27 Feb 00:16 next collapse

Yeah but it’s a corporation. They get more rights than us humans.

em2@lemmy.ml on 27 Feb 00:18 next collapse

There is a question on the constitutionality of automated surveillance technology, the type of data that is being collected, who has access to them, and how they are using it. Additionally, some other concerns I can think of off the top of my head are:

  • Are the taxpayers funding this?
  • Is my data being sold?
  • If so, who is profiting?
  • Where is supporting data showing this type of surveillance is needed?
  • What demographical areas are these cameras more prevalent in? Aka are there a subset of peoples being targeted by this type of surveillance?
  • What are the rules and regulations agencies need to follow with the data they capture with this tool?
privatizetwiddle@lemmy.sdf.org on 27 Feb 01:07 collapse

We appreciate your well thought out and constructive comment, but the one you were replying to was about the cameras themselves not having any expectation of privacy, a reversal of the common excuse from the camera owners that your comment addresses.

em2@lemmy.ml on 27 Feb 04:57 collapse

Oh, definitely not what I thought or intended. Thanks for the heads up and kind reply. For clarity, I believe those cameras shouldn’t be installed or used, especially under this administration.

warbond@lemmy.world on 27 Feb 00:21 collapse

Aggregating location data is very different from having a picture taken in public, wouldn’t you agree?

Vendetta9076@sh.itjust.works on 27 Feb 03:07 next collapse

If it was a person maybe. But these are objects. Objects have no expectation of privacy.

warbond@lemmy.world on 27 Feb 13:40 collapse

My bad, I thought the original comment was about tracking cars, not the cameras.

Vendetta9076@sh.itjust.works on 28 Feb 03:21 collapse

Fair enough.

electric_nan@lemmy.ml on 27 Feb 03:54 collapse

You may have misunderstood my comment. I was joking about Flock being mad at their cameras being tracked, by using one of the arguments for public surveillance.

warbond@lemmy.world on 27 Feb 13:39 collapse

Ah, gotcha, I thought it was a sincere argument about tracking people’s vehicles.

alcho@lemm.ee on 27 Feb 00:34 next collapse

On the site, they have a sign you can print out to put on or around the cameras. What sort of laws in my state or jurisdiction should I be looking at? Just want to see the legal implications.

[deleted] on 27 Feb 11:14 next collapse

.

jagged_circle@feddit.nl on 27 Feb 16:52 collapse

This has to be in Denmark, right?