Flock Off: Media

Politics in the US are more divisive than ever, but there are still a few topics on which most Americans can agree: apple pie is delicious, football is the most popular sport, and dogs are adorable. A penchant for protecting our four-legged friends is normally a positive, but on Super Bowl Sunday, Americans’ love for our canine companions was weaponized against us by Amazon’s Ring cameras, their partnership with Flock, and Flock’s dealings with ICE.

We asked the Democratic primary candidates for Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District seat their thoughts on AI-powered Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology in our communities. Here’s what they had to say.

Long gone are the days of “innocent until proven guilty” and personal privacy. There are fewer and fewer places that are free from our overlords’ constant gaze. Ugly black poles went up all over town. One lonely conspiracy theorist camped out by a pole closest to the center of town shortly after their appearance. They signal aliens! They’re watching us!, he declared.

Allowing the collection of this data in the context of an antagonistic federal administration endangers us all— it’s an invasion of privacy that we shouldn’t accept even under the friendliest administration. None of us should be put under this kind of microscope by our government.