Unless Flock Is Reined In, Mass Video Surveillance Will Grow More Pervasive

Be prepared to abandon fixation upon Flock, and all the sources that will be replacing it, eg Axon. It's not just Flock that needs reining in, but the principle of excess surveillance itself and mass encroachment on human dignity. Europe just passed law requiring all newly manufactured autos to bear driver-facing cameras, which analyze the driver's face, without disclosing what truly governs the final destination of the video or potential 3rd party access. This is spreading to the US too, along with myriad other variations of intrusive surveillance. My personal favorite is the Xfinity style wifi (CSI multi-AP WiFi sensing), which can map an entire family's activity replete with metadata, behavioral patterning and more, through apartment walls, and without any transparency or consent. That tech is real and in the field.

I predict our best efforts, which we've not yet come close to, will all fail. This is a situation that to stand any chance of challenging, requires a 'holistic' approach not limited to even just surveillance. Also, we need to drop the compartmentalized thought manacles and begin seeing the bigger picture, which is, in my opinion, a very unfortunately lost cause considering the way the entire world is moving. Anyone looking past the surface, and connecting the dots (a forbidden practice) should clearly see that the vectors for intrusive surveillance are simply too numerous and solid to defend against, and multiplying daily. That said, I have never dropped a fight just because I knew I'd lose. It might help though, to admit what we are up against, and anticipate the results of any apparent success, which from all my observations, will be temporary and largely superficial, and in some cases, one step forward and two steps back. One reason Flock is being protested to vehemently, is publicity, and awareness. What replaces it may not be as candid, nor accessible.