Always Watching

Do you worry that you're being watched?

        If you drive, you probably are.

        My new video covers the cameras that photograph the backs of millions of cars.

        A company called Flock has 80% of that market.

        Flock's CEO says the goal is to "eliminate crime."

        But lots of people hate the cameras.   

        "We are asked to give up our privacy for really nothing in return," says ACLU lawyer Chad Marlow.

        "These cameras save lives," I push back, "catching criminals."

        When a car thief kidnapped a child in Atlanta last month, Flock cameras helped police find the car and arrest a man within 15 minutes.

        Marlow says, "That car could and would've been found anyway without violating the privacy rights of every single person in America ... Surveillance doesn't actually deter criminal activity, with one exception, car thefts in public parking lots."

        "I hardly feel like my privacy's invaded," I tell him. "It's just my license plate number. Anybody can see it."

        Marlow replies that today, AI lets police use that photo to learn much more about us.

        "The data they collect when combined with AI is terrifying. Combine them with all other sources of electronic data from the government and our own personal lives, you are literally looking at what George Orwell warned us about."

        Is Flock really that much of a threat?

        Some cops have been jailed for using Flock data to track women. One Denver police officer casually boasted, "You can't get a breath of fresh air without us knowing."

        But there are limits. When using Flock's camera database, police must give a reason.

        Marlow laughs at that. "They have these security measures, but a 10-year-old could defeat them ... (One) law enforcement department, 111 times, listed the reason for their investigation as 'investigation.' Twenty times, it was 'hehehe.' And it went through!"

        Public anger about Flock cameras has politicians on left and right moving to limit them.

        Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pulled them from state highways.

        "Stop Flock," says a tweet from Sen. Bernie Sanders.

        This is a mistake, says Rafael Mangual of the Manhattan Institute. "They are a useful law enforcement tool with really incredible potential to aid investigations."

        I point out the misuse, but Mangual replies, "That is no more a reason to ban the technology than it would be a reason to disarm police in response to a handful of bad shootings."

        I remind him that when DeSantis shut down Florida's cameras, he warned about a "surveillance state."

        "It's not a surveillance state," says Mangual. "These cameras see less than half a percent of the visible roadway. The idea that they can track you from place to place the way a GPS tracker attached to the bottom of your car is just wrong."

        China is an actual surveillance state. Cameras track people's movements, clothes, cars, even relationships.

        "It is only going to get worse as technology advances if we don't stop it now," says Marlow.

        Flock has no plans to stop. The company now promotes surveillance drones.

        So far, I'm not very bothered by the privacy threat.

        I worry more about government's endless wars, increased debt, inflation, growing handouts that make Americans dependent ...

        Flock surveillance is way down on my list.

        "That's a mistake," Michael Ricci, president of Stossel TV tells me. "Camera surveillance makes it easier for a tyrannical government to track where you go, and who you meet with. It also normalizes surveillance. As storage gets cheaper, maybe they will store videos instead of just photos. Maybe add facial recognition. Maybe they will connect the system to the 'kill switch' they've mandated in new cars. Government always finds ways to expand its powers."

        He makes good points. China's surveillance did not start with its current system. They started with a few cameras. This is not a path we want to start traveling.

        Giving governments more power is always dangerous.

        Government is force. Only government can legally take our property and freedom.

        Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of "Government Gone Wild: Exposing the Truth Behind the Headlines."

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Views expressed in this column are those of the author, not those of Rasmussen Reports. Comments about this content should be directed to the author or syndicate.