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Vigilante movement targets Flock surveillance cameras

techJul 25, 202657266

An underground network of privacy activists has been disabling and destroying Flock Safety automated license plate readers around the US, the Guardian reports. The story follows a Minneapolis activist known as NoMark, who says he has taken down more than a dozen cameras while posting masked videos to an audience of more than 700,000 followers. The black, solar‑paired ALPRs made by Georgia company Flock Safety are deployed in about 6,000 communities in nearly every US state; Flock says its cameras scan license plates billions of times each month and that the devices are “not mass surveillance tools.” Vigilantes are using tactics including taping and snipping power wires, “paint bombing,” planting American flags at damaged sites, 3D‑printing obstructions and leaving taunting messages after damaging units. The Guardian identified at least 33 incidents across 23 states that appear explicitly framed as protests against surveillance. The wave of vandalism comes amid local controversies and law enforcement scrutiny over Flock contracts and data use, and it has led some municipalities and officials to reconsider or terminate agreements with the company.

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