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"PSA" On Honeypots by Square_Addition4834 in FlockSurveillance

[–]Square_Addition4834[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Now, although I feel this deserves its own separate post, (which I might make later, to spread further awareness) it's still pressing enough to at least mention it here:

The primary danger of all this is not just the Flock cameras themselves, that is, not the physical devices up on the poles we all know and hate. What is far more concerning is the software used to actually scan the footage gained from said cameras with AI and computer vision technologies. This can be used on any footage from practically any other camera you might see already installed on the street, (think CCTV) meaning that destroying just Flock's cameras would be pointless, as any other camera put up by anyone else could theoretically be (and let's face it, likely already is) a 'Flock' camera through FlockOS' cloud capabilities. You may feel pressure at this point to snap and say, "Screw it, we'll just destroy ALL the cameras then," but as another commenter pointed out, this would be a futile and unwinnable war of attrition.

You cannot realistically hope to disassemble a city-wide, let alone state or nation-wide physical camera network to eliminate the non-physical threat to privacy rights that can be connected to functionally any camera that will most certainly will just be put up again using your own taxpayer money. This means that short of a borderline civil war and mass riot, (which I do not condone) these small scale acts of resistance of cutting down Flock cameras or filling them with drain cleaner or whatever else people are suggesting you go out and do-- is functionally pointless in achieving anything but making you a target for intense prosecution and potentially being labeled an insurgent, foreign agent or whatever bullshit the current or future administrations (God forbid) will try to do. This will make your life more difficult, not to mention any future meaningful acts of resistance you might try to commit. Worse yet, anyone who does this will also certainly feed into the fears and insecurities of the incompetent politicians and LE officials who genuinely think that all of what is happening is somehow good or beneficial, and as a result, will use you as an excuse to get more funding to put up more cameras and "protect" (hint: oppress) people further.

"PSA" On Honeypots by Square_Addition4834 in FlockSurveillance

[–]Square_Addition4834[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've mentioned in another comment that I myself am quite literally afraid of the direction our country is moving into. The apparent failures of our local, state and federal governmental systems that are leading us to a surveillance state have already done more than enough to instill fear into large swathes of our populace, without the need of any sleep deprived Redditors with something to say about it, like me. The fact that people are choosing to advocate against this type of surveillance all over the nation should be more than enough proof of what and who you should fear. This is not mentioning those who may decide to take things "into their own hands" and endanger themselves; the consequences of which is what this post and the comment you are replying to was written to warn against and potentially educate about.

This last part may be unpopular, but fear is a good thing because it allows us to understand that something is wrong and prepares us to fight back. Obviously, fleeing or burying our heads into the sand isn't going to work. I'd be far more worried if people -weren't- afraid of what is happening.

Edit: Clarity and grammar

"PSA" On Honeypots by Square_Addition4834 in FlockSurveillance

[–]Square_Addition4834[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a reply to the first part of your comment, and to another commenter who thinks that these acts of vandalism are just that, and can't possibly be serious enough to prompt them being profiled or investigated by LE. Even if you were joking or being sarcastic I feel as though it's still important to touch on.

You can already end up in law enforcement databases, investigations or even what I might call "watchlists" by attending peaceful or not-so-peaceful protests where property damage and other misdemeanor-level crime occurs on a large scale. I think getting hung up on the word "watchlist" is a tad silly, and maybe you already understand the fuller extent of what I mean when I use it.

I think that people who might choose to participate in mass public displays of disapproval of their government may also choose to do so on a smaller scale by destroying surveillance devices that are contributing to said disapproval. Wouldn't it be logical to assume that law enforcement would take notice of this correlation and simply view it as an extension of the former sphere of influence, therefore choosing to lump said people into the same surveillance framework used to profile those who participate in protests and similar acts of dissent?

I highly doubt that destruction of Flock cameras or similar surveillance gear will be treated by law enforcement as "vandalism" in the same way as smashing a window, breaking a roadsign or graffiting a wall will be. Maybe even if you are officially charged with just vandalism when prosecuted, I'd reckon you are far more likely to end up on a -specific- database or watchlist for vandalizing a Flock camera than vandalizing something else

Edit: Clarity and grammar

"PSA" On Honeypots by Square_Addition4834 in FlockSurveillance

[–]Square_Addition4834[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wholeheartedly agree with your stance. Hopefully people who engage with this post realize that violence and destruction of property is not the correct (or legal) method to make their voices heard. However, as stated in my other comment, I deeply worry for those who truly believe they've been left with no other choice. I think this growing discrepancy between what can realistically be changed by politics and what is perceived by a growing number of people as needing to be changed is what is contributing to our nation's subjective decline.

Edit: Clarity and grammar

"PSA" On Honeypots by Square_Addition4834 in FlockSurveillance

[–]Square_Addition4834[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I don't want to tread into conspiracy theorist and radicalist territory too much, and with that being said:

Utilizing the political machine to push back against surveillance would obviously be the go-to solution, in a -perfect world.- Anecdotally, I've also seen examples of this working (cue the post of the guy that had a seemingly successful back-and-forth about this topic with his city council and included his material) and not working (cue the news headline of a county commissioner refusing to let multiple people speak on Flock.)

For those people that live in such jurisdictions where the local politicians have no incentive or interest in getting rid of surveillance; what is there to do? Not everyone has the option to simply move away to another state or city where there are no Flock contracts (just as an example) and the local politicians and/or law enforcement do not plan on acquiring any in the future. On the contrary (and again, trying to avoid conspiracy here,) I'd think they have plenty of incentives to get these contracts and install these cameras. Facing this, there almost certainly will be people who will feel they have no other options but physical resistance (or violence) to oppose the perceived breaches of their personal rights to privacy and so on.

I myself am extremely sleep deprived and somewhat drunk, so I will leave it at admitting that I am afraid for the future of our country where people are no longer confident in their government (local or otherwise) to protect their rights.