Content featuring citizen vigilantes defacing AI-powered Flock cameras has swept the internet. Flock cameras have been the object of countless attacks across the country, being ripped from their mounts, spray-painted over, and in one case purposefully hit with a car. The movement to deface these cameras even has merchandise, with shirts amusingly promising free candy to anyone who takes a bat to the devices. Are these vigilantes virtuous? Does Flock really pose a threat to our freedoms? The best answer is the classic lawyer’s crutch: it depends.
Historically, the use of these cameras (known in the security tech industry as automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs) has been considered entirely within the constitutional power of police departments. Such systems are routinely used to catch individuals running red lights and speeding. However, recent expansion of the breadth of the systems in conjunction with Supreme Court rulings on the Fourth Amendment is reframing this normally benign …
