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surveillance technology is not going away. we need to mitigate the downsides what systems could be changed or created to prevent abuse of power?
by spongebobstoes 11d ago
surveillance technology is not going away. we need to mitigate the downsides
what systems could be changed or created to prevent abuse of power?
- PunchyHamster 11d agonot installing them. Voting out anyone that does
- atemerev 11d agoNot enough. Preemptively passing laws that forbid this kind of mass surveillance. Like in Switzerland and other nice places.
- NegativeK 11d agoMaking the possession of data this either illegal or too horribly cumbersome. Flock is just an iteration, and getting rid of that brand won't fix it. And camera tracking of normal citizens is just an iteration -- not the underlying systemic issue that isn't being addressed. The EU has GDPR. At this point, I want something stronger than that.
- atemerev 9d agoStill not enough. What you suggest does not prevent the government of possessing the data. Technical means of collection needs to be preemptively banned.
- wateralien 11d agoVideo is useful in keeping people safe. Including from the cops. It’s about remaking the system to require court permission every time they access it, process and transparency.
- colechristensen 11d agoGive me freedom or give me death. Police wearing body cameras has nothing to do with universal mass surveillance devices.
- postalrat 11d agoNo big deal is it was just video. It's really about the data that can be extracted from the video such as who you meet, when you are home or not and who is at your house, etc. all in realtime.
- wateralien 11d agoYes that should all require a court warrant based on probable cause.
- NetMageSCW 11d agoBecause that will never be abused.
- wateralien 10d agoI hope sarcasm is working well for you. To clarify: it would be abused without systems, therefore add court warrants to access any personal information. Criminals are already abusing society by knowing that most of their crime will never be caught.
- postalrat 10d agoIs there evidence these systems reduce crime?
- AlienRobot 11d agoYou are conflating extremely different things, and that is dangerous. Somehow we went from: 1. People can see and hear your in public 2. Therefore public places are not private 3. Therefore people can record you 4. Therefore it's okay to build a network of cameras that can track and query every place you have ever been The problem has always been on step 2. The assumption that "public places are not private" anymore just because everyone can record you and post it on TikTok. In reality before smartphones public places were extremely private compared to being broadcast to the entire planet.
- colechristensen 11d agoSurveillance tech very much can be and is going away in plenty of places 321 down, Dallas: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/6065838-dallas-police-flock-camera-funding-freeze/ https://thehill.com/policy/technology/6065838-dallas-police-... 150 down, El Paso: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/public-safety/2026/09/04/561096/after-abbotts-order-limiting-flock-cameras-dps-to-continue-using-its-vast-surveillance-network/ https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/public-safe... ALL on state roadways, Florida: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/state/2026/09/01/which-florida-counties-are-removing-flock-cameras-desantis-sheriffs-office/91559522007/ https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/state/2026/09/01/whic... A dozen agencies cancelling Flock in Wisconsin https://www.fox6now.com/news/flock-camera-pushback-fond-du-lac-county-racine-county-ending-use https://www.fox6now.com/news/flock-camera-pushback-fond-du-l...
- NetMageSCW 11d agoA good question to ask is if those locations are just switching to an alternative ALPR system.
- Zigurd 11d agoAnything can be made to go away.
- NetMageSCW 11d agoLook at the rights of Us citizens when confronted by ICE.
- whynotmaybe 11d agoMaybe have something on the plate that prevents reading from certain angles? There was a ticket dismissed in Quebec a few years ago for an "unreadable plate" because the car had a bike rack hiding the plate but the ticket had the plate number on it so it was not unreadable
- zapataband1 11d agoWe need an actual democracy(not rich people's puppets). In this country almost 75% of voting population are against the war in Iran and yet most of congress supports that war.
- Henchman21 11d agoI know if you douse these cameras with flammable liquids they burn up pretty well. I’m in support of the same for the people pushing these Flock cameras. Because if you’ve elevated yourself above the rest of us, well then we don’t need you anymore. Tie whomever voted for these cameras to the mast and light them the fuck up.
- mohamedkoubaa 11d agoThey are being removed from hundreds of municipalities, what do you mean?
- spongebobstoes 10d agowe have some pushback against Flock, but technology does not regress there are many people who want to use surveillance to deter and catch criminals surveillance also helps combat certain abuses of power, like cops shooting black people we should build an accountability system to balance against additional state power and surveillance. defense in depth. the best of both worlds?
- matheusmoreira 11d agoHuman nature itself.
- AlienRobot 11d agoWhy is it not going away?