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When discussing surveillance cameras in a city taking pictures all the time, it's important to clarify that this refers to video surveillance systems that capture continuous footage, which can then be used for public safety and traffic monitoring in urban environments.
Some notable companies include:
Pelco: They offer comprehensive city surveillance camera systems designed to improve collaboration between city agencies, streamline emergency management, and facilitate faster investigations.
Cisco Meraki: These cameras have been used in cities, and footage can be stored locally. Some cities integrate them with AI tools.
Dahua and Hikvision: These are major Chinese manufacturers whose surveillance and traffic monitoring systems are used in municipalities in various countries.
Honeywell International Inc.: This is a leading company in the video surveillance system industry worldwide.
Verkada: Their cameras connect via cellular networks and store footage locally.
LiveView Technologies (LVT): They provide remote surveillance camera systems that have been shown to reduce crime in cities.
Flock Safety: is a company that provides public safety technology, including cameras often used in cities and neighborhoods. Flock's most popular products, the Falcon and Sparrow, are cameras which monitor traffic and photograph the rear of all passing vehicles. Their software uses artificial intelligence to read the vehicles' license plates and identify other distinguishing visual characteristics, sending that information to a central server via cellular network.
It's also worth noting the historical development of surveillance cameras, starting with digital video compression in the early 90s and the introduction of IP cameras like the Axis NetEye 200, which enabled wireless transmission over a computer network.
Modern systems often store footage on hard drives, flash storage, or even in the cloud, offering vast storage capacity. The use of digital multiplexers also allowed for multi-camera security systems.
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Flock Saftey: AI Overview
Flock Safety is a company that provides public safety technology, including cameras often used in cities and neighborhoods . These cameras are designed to deter crime and assist law enforcement and property managers in solving crimes.
Key features of Flock Safety cameras:
Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR): They capture license plates and vehicle characteristics like make, model, and color.
AI-Powered: They use AI to process the captured data and can also detect sounds like gunshots.
Real-time Alerts: The cameras can send alerts to law enforcement when a vehicle associated with a stolen car, wanted suspect, or missing person is detected.
While Flock Safety cameras are often described as "surveillance cameras" and strategically placed to capture vehicle data, it's important to clarify their operation:
They are primarily Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras.
They capture vehicle data as vehicles pass by, enabling the detection of vehicles of interest.
While they can be used for video surveillance and even have live streaming capabilities, the focus and primary function of Flock Safety cameras, especially in the context of mass surveillance concerns, is their ALPR technology and the creation of databases based on captured license plate information.
Important note: There are significant concerns about the privacy implications of widespread use of ALPR cameras and the potential for creating a mass surveillance system. Lawsuits have been filed challenging the legality of their warrantless use.
In summary, Flock Safety cameras are primarily designed to capture vehicle data, particularly license plates, using ALPR technology. While they can also be used for video surveillance, their core function is focused on collecting vehicle information to aid in crime prevention and investigation.
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License Plate Recognition Cameras
License plate readers play a critical role in the national crime and safety conversation. This is true especially as communities, businesses, and public safety institutions increasingly rely on technology to drive insights to generate leads and solve and prevent criminal activities.
Reduce crime one license plate at a time
License plate recognition (LPR) cameras can be placed almost anywhere to capture detailed data about license plates and vehicles used to commit crimes, enabling quick and efficient action.
In one study, 97% of motor vehicle thieves were also charged with other crimes. Motor vehicle thefts are called a “keystone crime” by the Council on Criminal Justice because they so often are used to facilitate the commission of other, more serious offenses.
Unlike reactive security systems, license plate recognition (LPR) systems provide proactive, data-driven, actionable evidence.
Here’s why license plate recognition matters:
In many cases, a license plate number is a crucial pieve of evidence law enforcement can use to pursue an investigation. A license plate is objective, actionable, and discrete.
Alerting police when a stolen or known suspect vehicle enters a community can prevent further crime before it happens.
License plate recognition will continue to play a critical role in the national crime and safety conversation. This is true especially as communities, businesses, and public safety institutions increasingly rely on technology to drive insights to generate leads and solve and prevent criminal activities.
Why License Plates Matter
According to the most recent FBI crime clearance data available, less than 50% of violent crime gets solved. Police are understaffed, have too many cases on their desks, and lack actionable evidence — like a license plate number. That’s why Flock Safety built a solution that focuses on license plate recognition (LPR) and Vehicle Fingerprint™ technology.
A license plate gives authorities a clear direction in their investigation. It’s also linked to the history of the vehicle, so if the vehicle or plates have been stolen, law enforcement can act on that information.
Unlike historically-biased eyewitness testimony, a license plate number eliminates the potential for bias or false identifications.
How License Plate Recognition Cameras Enhance Security
Instantly searchable data, including plate numbers or missing/covered plates, as well as vehicle make, model, color, alterations, and other unique identifying information. With a standard camera, you have to go through hours of footage to find the captured crime.
Integration with local law enforcement to identify vehicles involved in crimes from retail theft to amber alerts. When the camera identifies a flagged license plate, the camera will notify the authorities automatically, with no action needed by the camera owner.
Actionable evidence to bring to the authorities. Providing objective evidence mitigates bias and gives law enforcement what they need to quickly and effectively investigate a crime.
24/7 protection. Even full-time security guards can’t monitor the entirety of a property. And if a crime does occur on their watch, actionable evidence is not always available to make an arrest.
The benefits of license plate recognition technology extend to many individuals within a community, from law enforcement and business owners, to neighborhoods, schools, and beyond.
Neighborhoods, Gated Communities, and HOAs
Homeowners associations charged with providing security services for neighborhood spaces must review and evaluate a wide array of options for securing their communities.
Communities often decide between traditional security options such as gates, lighting, and security patrols. Many residents already use personal security devices like smart doorbells, cameras, alarm systems, and motion sensor-activated outdoor lighting.
As a way to supplement these traditional security measures, license plate recognition cameras can fill in any security gaps and bolster evidence in the event of a crime. They also minimize the risk to residents, security personnel, and neighborhood watch volunteers by reducing the need for face-to-face confrontation and providing 24/7 protection.
The Flock Safety Advantage for Neighborhoods
Flock Safety’s camera systems are hassle-free. Cameras are leased, so your neighborhood always has the latest model.
Flock cameras are budget-friendly and run primarily on LTE and solar panels, ensuring no hidden costs. You don’t need to run electricity, wifi, or anything else to them.
Flock Safety cameras are discretely designed, so they don't compromise the neighborhood aesthetic.
Flock respects your privacy. The encrypted data collected is 100% owned by your HOA or community and is only kept for 30 days by default.
Learn more about how Flock Safety can help your neighborhood work with law enforcement to reduce crime rates, protect home values, and give your residents peace of mind.
Commercial Businesses
Retail theft is a growing issue for retailers of all sizes. The National Retail Foundation found that organized retail crime (ORC) rose by almost 20% from 2021 to 2022. Businesses may struggle to prevent thefts and have limited ability to track down suspects after the fact, even with in-store video footage.
The same survey also showed that 88% of retailers note that, in general, shoplifters exhibit “somewhat more” or “much more” aggressive and violent behavior compared to the previous year.
Facing a growing threat of shoplifting, robbery, cyber theft, and violent crimes, half of the survey respondents said they would add technology resources for their security needs. A license plate recognition camera allows a business to link a shoplifter or other suspect to a vehicle, making it more likely they can be identified and arrested.
Crimes also happen outside businesses, such as parking lot smash-and-grabs, which LPR cameras can help prevent and solve. If an unauthorized person enters the premises, LPR cameras can alert administrators to prevent any unwanted confrontation.
The Flock Safety Advantage for Businesses
Cameras run on solar power and LTE for easy installation almost anywhere on your property, with no additional utility bills or IT integration.
Place at-risk vehicles on a Custom Hot List to get automatic alerts when they drive by your cameras.
Easily search all of your footage based on time, location and detailed vehicle criteria.
Option to share evidence and alerts from your cameras with local law enforcement so they can act quickly if an incident occurs.
Apartment Complexes
If you’re managing apartments or other rental properties, resident safety is a top priority for retention and reputation. Crime and a high rate of resident turnover can be extremely costly.
Implementing license plate recognition cameras can help prevent these issues and provide protection for your residents, leading to a safe community and satisfied residents.
Property managers have to juggle various responsibilities with multiple units or properties. LPR cameras can help reduce the burden by automatically alerting authorities when a crime occurs and producing actionable evidence without the need to sift through hours and hours of CCTV footage.
The Flock Safety Advantage for Property Managers
Flock takes care of hardware, permitting, installation, maintenance and software training for a single annual subscription price.
Flock cameras are solar-powered and run on LTE, which means they do not increase utility costs or rely on potentially unstable Wi-Fi.
License plate reading cameras capture vehicle data day and night, and automatically alert law enforcement if a wanted vehicle passes by.
Improvement Districts
Often, business and property owners will join an improvement district in an effort to help maintain and promote a safe and thriving community for businesses, visitors, and residents. Reducing crime and increasing safety are among the top priorities for such improvement districts, ultimately leading to higher property values, better business development opportunities, and happier residents and customers.
License plate recognition technology can monitor the area and reduce crime by creating a security presence. LPR cameras run unattended 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, handling high volumes of traffic and license plates.
Additionally, LPR camera systems can be shared with law enforcement, allowing them to take immediate action when an at-risk vehicle is detected.
The Flock Safety Advantage for Improvement Districts
Hardware, permitting, installation, maintenance and software are handled by Flock.
Flock Safety cameras run on solar power and LTE for easy installation almost anywhere with no additional utility bills.
Flock Safety data can be shared with law enforcement, providing footage that is searchable and easy to sift through.
Success With Flock Safety
Flock Safety’s license plate recognition camera systems are helping create safer communities across the United States. Flock is present in 49 states and thousands of cities.
Police departments across the country are seeing success using Flock Safety cameras, such as Gwinnett Police, who in 2021 used Flock LPRs to recover 104 stolen vehicles that were worth a total of $1.47 million, locate 93 wanted persons, and assist in a 53% decrease in commercial burglaries in one year.
Cobb County Police attribute a 100% homicide clearance rate over 2 years in part to Flock LPR cameras.
Castle Rock, CO saw a 25% decrease in auto thefts in 2021 followed by a 15% decrease in 2022, for a total of a 40% reduction in car theft after installing Flock cameras.
Peoria Police Department reported that shooting incidents declined 28 percent, shooting victims declined 26 percent and shooting murders dropped 26 percent from 2021 to 2022 after deploying Flock cameras.
Whether you’re a business owner, HOA board member, property manager, law enforcement officer, or other professional seeking to protect yourself and your community, Flock Safety will help improve security and lower crime rates.
Flock Safety is an all-in-one technology solution to eliminate crime and keep your community safe. Our intelligent platform combines the power of communities at scale - including cities, businesses, schools, and law enforcement agencies - to shape a safer future together. Our full-service, maintenance-free technology solution is trusted by more than 4,000 communities across the country to help solve and deter crime in the pursuit of safer communities for everyone.
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Flock cameras continue to solve crimes and catch suspects
Flock safety cameras are becoming more visible in area communities. These are cameras designed to recognize traffic in the area to help police identify suspect vehicles.
There are nearly 500 flock cameras in the Birmingham Metro area alone, including Shelby County. These cameras have been crucial in capturing suspects involved in a variety crimes.
"If we are trying to identify a suspect vehicle, locate a potential suspect driver and all we have is a partial tag or make and model, these tools are invaluable," said Major Clay Hammac with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
Just a few examples where these flock cameras have been used are to locate stolen vehicles. In some cases robberies and homicides have been solved within the hour, sometimes even minutes.
"We have also been able to utilize this intelligence to help us concentrate our efforts more surgically in the community that needs greater attention for crime prevention efforts," said Hammac.
Montevallo police started using flock cameras back in 2020.
"We had them in for a week and our first hit was a stolen vehicle from a neighboring city, we got stolen firearms out of that vehicle, we also solved about 15 other felonies tied into the people driving that vehicle," said Montevallo Police Chief Jeremy Littleton.
Flock cameras have not just been an affordable option for departments, but has also helped in acting as another tool to aid police.
"As you see nationwide, law enforcement is a little tighter with having as much access in the community because of human capitol restrictions," said Hammac.
"If they go through one of these cameras, it alerts us, so there's always a chance if a police officer is out there riding around in a different area, we could miss them," said Littleton. "They have helped us solve burglaries, stolen vehicles, we've got stolen vehicles from Kentucky. They have been very beneficial to us and they are a great force multiplier for the police department because it's like us putting an additional officer out there looking for vehicles that have been involved in crimes."
Some people have expressed concerns about their privacy regarding these camera, but the cameras are flagging information on vehicles used in crimes, and that are stolen. In comparison, it's similar to having a police officer behind a driver and running their vehicle information.
"A question the public usually has is 'what is this camera capturing'? It's a very fair question to ask. We are very respectful, especially in the area of a sheriff's office about private property owner rights and private information being obtained and stored. These cameras are used exclusively for law enforcement purposes and public safety purposes," said Hammac."
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What Is A Flock Camera?
A new surveillance system has been quietly popping up across America. Flock Safety is a private technology company based in Atlanta. Founded in 2017, Flock has created a license plate reader camera and data storage for law enforcement, schools, businesses, and even homeowner associations.
Flock Safety positions itself as a company that helps to deter crime by providing data about where and when cars have been tagged on its camera system using artificial intelligence. While this may be a great way to assist law enforcement in making arrests many people feel this is a privacy concern that every community needs to assess.
When a vehicle passes a Flock camera a photo and video is taken. AI technology pulls the license plate number and categorizes the vehicle characteristics. If you are not suspected of a crime, your information is logged and can be searched before being deleted after 30 days. If you are on a police “hot list” then the location data is pushed to law enforcement immediately for a response.
License plate recognition is an established technology. For years police vehicles have been fitted with automatic license plate readers (ALPR). License plate readers have also been used in parking enforcement made popular in 2008 with A&E’s show Parking Wars.
Flock Safety has made an affordable, stand-alone camera and network to spot and alert owners to plates associated with crime or unwanted behavior. The Flock database feeds to places like police departments and the National Crime Information Center.
Flock cameras connect to vast networks that gather data about what plates pass their many locations. The most popular one that's spotted is the Flock Safety Falcon™ LF. This camera is used for two-lane roads with light to moderate traffic. Think of your town’s main roads, but not the interstate.
What many cities like about the Falcon and other Flock cameras is that they are solar-powered. They do not require a municipality to run power or data lines to the camera which makes installing one easy and fast.
Not to mention the self-contained camera bypasses all sorts of local red tape to get one up and running. And some cities like Providence, RI can reach a deal with Flock Safety to get the cameras free for a year without as much as a public meeting about them.
While most have not seen the inside of a Flock camera, it’s safe to say they transmit data using cellular networks like 5G and LTE. The data is viewed on FlockOS® which is a program specifically for Flock users.
What Information Does Flock Collect?
On the surface, Flock Cameras capture more data than standard license plate readers that are made only to photograph the plate itself. Thanks to their Vehicle Fingerprint® Technology, these cameras can profile vehicles by color, type, roof rack, and even bumper stickers. In addition, they track how often a vehicle passes any camera and can even predict routes. It’s important to note that they do not use facial recognition technology.
Here's a list of data Flock says they collect:
License plate image
Vehicle image
Vehicle characteristics
License plate number
License Plate State
Date
Time
Location
This data can be searched by Flock customers in local, state, and federal law enforcement. This means that small police agencies can search a nationwide database of license plates and car profiles to search for a vehicle of interest.
There is restricted access to the database among police. Not every officer in every department can use it. While this can be a great tool for small departments, it also feeds fears of mass surveillance of private citizens and potential abuse by law enforcement.
It’s not unheard of for officers to illegally track their former partners using police resources. While there are safeguards in place, a vast network like this can be abused for personal gain, which Flock Safety does not condone. But this leads to an important question: Can you opt out of Flock’s data collection?
Can You Opt Out Of The Flock Database?
While Flock Safety does not address this issue directly, it seems that there is no way to opt out of your data being collected by their surveillance network for law enforcement. Flock is quick to point out that license plate recognition and similar data collection are legal because as the courts have upheld time and time again there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in visible public areas. The same laws that protect journalists can be used to protect for-profit companies engaged in mass data collection.
For civilian usage like businesses and healthcare facilities, there is no way to keep your plate from being tracked. If you pass through the parking lot of a big box home improvement store, they can take your plate and car details for their use. There seems to be no way to opt out of this collection, sharing, and retention of your data.
For homeowner association clients, there is somewhat of a solution, the HOA Safe List. “The HOA Safe List feature allows neighborhood residents to register their license plate number and opt to be eliminated from captured footage.” But this is only for non-police use and residents have to self-register with Flock and the HOA in order to have their footage automatically deleted.
Flock does point out that they delete their footage on a rolling 30 basis. However, that schedule can change increase or decrease on a case-by-case basis and a few other factors. But also logged vehicles and reports can be downloaded and saved by users – private or law enforcement.
Flock does say that their footage can’t be sold, published, or disclosed in any way for commercial purposes. So, for now, car dealerships can target drivers who pass by their lots and send them direct marketing mailers.
Flock Safety Transparency
If you are curious about what data is collected in your area, Flock Safety does have what they call transparency reports. On a special web page, visitors can see limited stats on what information is collected by a police department, how many cars are recorded, hotlist hits, and searches done in the last 30-day period. Here is a transparency report for the Piedmont Police Department in California.
Not much data is given here and most of the information can also be found on their privacy policy page. The information given is useful but really doesn’t tell readers much. And the amount of information varies from department to department, some more ‘transparent’ than others. What’s notable about the Piedmont transparency page is the inclusion of a search audit CSV spreadsheet download and their stated data retention is 60 days.
When looking at another known police department using Flock cameras near my area, I did look at their search audit document. It was a CSV spreadsheet download that had a search ID number, user ID number, search date, camera count, and reason. While none of the information given could be deciphered on the spreadsheet it did give a look into how the police in this jurisdiction were using the Flock database. Reasons included hit and run, shoplifting, weapon violation, missing person, drugs, theft, and DUI just to name a few.
Is Flock Data Subject To FOIA?
The Freedom of Information Act grants citizens the right to request access to records from any federal agency. Generally speaking, you should be able to request the information your local police department has on you from Flock. You’ll need to research how to make an open records request from the agency.
You may also request emails from specific government employees with the words ALPR, Flock, and license plate reader. Note that there are legal reasons that would allow the agency to deny your request. Since Flock Safety is a private company, they do not have to comply with FOIA and do not offer open records requests.
Are Flock Cameras Legal?
In short, Flock cameras are legal. As they point out, there is no reasonable right to privacy in public. This is no different than a photographer snapping a photo of a celebrity in a bathing suit on a beach or a journalist asking the mayor a question on the sidewalk.
Also, note that the license plate on your vehicle is not your personal property, it belongs to the government. It is issued to you and the information that you provide is logged by the government. It is not reasonable to expect privacy in a public place with government-issued property.
While you may not like it, police and private companies can build a robust surveillance system under our current laws. States may want to reconsider what data can be collected in public for government or private use.
What Do Flock Cameras Look Like?
Flock cameras are elegant in their simplicity. You can always spot them because of their signature look. The camera is mounted to a tall, black pole with a titled solar panel at the top.
Cameras do not always have to be mounted to a pole. They can also be attached to existing power poles and traffic control devices which can make them more difficult to spot. The unobtrusive surveillance camera can be placed anywhere and blend in with its environment. You may drive by one every day and not notice it. That’s part of good surveillance.
Where Are Flock Cameras?
Estimates from 2022 have Flock cameras in more than 1,500 cities and photographing more than 1 million vehicles a month. It seems like every time one drives through a community, they see a new one. The Art of Surveillance has a running list of police departments that have purchased cameras from Flock Safety.
Flock and police departments are hesitant to publish maps of their camera locations because they are concerned that people with bad intent will target them for vandalism. While this is a valid point, it seems to push aside the transparency and public location arguments.
If the cameras are in public places where there is no right to privacy, then why work so hard to conceal their locations? There is a user-made Google map of the Milwaukee area made by a reporter that you can see here.
What Are The Benefits Of Flock Cameras?
Certainly, Flock cameras can provide needed information in a timely manner to law enforcement to help stop crime. Plate recognition has long been used by law enforcement to track criminals, make arrests, and serve warrants.
We've spoken with several police officers about Flock cameras, and they see them as a great advantage. Having a passive camera collect data about who is coming and going in their community could help reduce crime and promote safety.
Recently, a 14-year-old girl went missing in a nearby community. (She was found and returned home.) Police were able to find out she’d gone with an older male and was believed to be living in his car around the county. While there's no confirmation, one can’t imagine that they didn’t pass a Flock camera at some point.
For police, how valuable would it be to receive a real-time hit that the car they are looking for just passed a Flock camera? Plate readers have been used in the past for similar cases, but generally, they are mounted to a patrol car and can require an officer to be present. The passive camera works 24/7 watching for plates that have been deemed significant by police.
Similarly, footage of cars captured on private security cameras from a robbery can be cross-referenced by police. For example, an ATM was stolen from a gas station overnight. The gas station footage shows a white, Ford F-150 take the ATM. That footage can be given to law enforcement who then can search for white pickup trucks on the Flock network in the area before and after the crime. A hit there could be a lead to solve the case quickly.
Not only can government agencies own and operate Flock cameras, but private businesses can, too. In my area, a big box home improvement store uses Flock as part of its inventory control to combat retail theft. However, private businesses do not have access to the wider law enforcement network to look up who owns what plate. Businesses can look up license plates on a variety of data broker sites for a fee.
But this big box store can build an internal database of cars they feel are involved in the theft of merchandise. Then they can pass those plates on to other stores to alert security that a possible theft may occur in their store. Add this to the fact that stores already using facial recognition and you’ve got quite a robust surveillance system for retailers.
Private businesses have the option to share their data with local police departments, it’s not mandatory. Many businesses do because they want to help combat crime on their property. It may be hard to tell if a local store shares data with the police, so you may need to ask the store manager about their data-sharing policy.
Privacy Concerns
If you are concerned about the mass surveillance of private citizens by the government, you are not alone. On its face, Flock cameras can capture data in public places where the law has upheld that there is no expectation of privacy. And while you may feel that these cameras have the ability to assist law enforcement, the greater issue is that all citizens are being tracked just as suspected criminals are. To license plate readers, there is no determination of guilt, everyone is recorded – everyone is reported.
If the cameras become as popular as the company hopes, law enforcement may have the ability to know the comprehensive movements of private citizens regardless of if they are suspected of a crime. This could create a great threat to citizen privacy and have legal implications.
Business and neighborhood clients are precluded from searching the nationwide database that law enforcement can utilize. But Flock cameras, no matter who owns them, can contribute to the greater law enforcement searchable database. This essentially makes every business and HOA that has a Flock camera a potential police informant.
Also, for citizens to consider is the question of who polices the database. While Flocks says they delete the data after 30 days, there are no laws that force them to do it. Are private citizens supposed to take the company’s word for it? Consumers have already seen abuses of collected data from companies like Ring, Tesla, and 23andMe. Not to mention the ever-present threat of a data breach.
What happens if Flock Safety is bought out by another company? For now, Flock seems to have a good grasp on the privacy issue. What protects citizens if a large company buys them out and changes the user agreement and data collection policies? What if that hypothetical company is in another, hostile country?
One should not be personally opposed to license plate readers for use in Amber alerts, tracking criminals fleeing a scene, or a hundred other useful law enforcement applications. However, one might draw the line at the government tracking its citizens unless there is reasonable suspicion that they are involved in a crime. This technology should not be used to create detailed records of citizen travel, but that’s what mass databases can be used for.
At what point does ALPR surveillance become an invasion of privacy? For now, there are not that many ALPR cameras in every community. A robust amount of data can’t be found on us currently, but soon that may be an issue. At some point there will be too many cameras that can track our behavior, make AI-generated predictions, and the line of invading private citizen’s privacy will occur and the courts will need to settle that.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has written a paper on potential privacy concerns.
Is Flock Safety Nefarious?
No, Flock Safety is not nefarious. In fact, they seem to be a leading tech company based in the US providing jobs and valuable information to police departments, schools, and homeowner associations. Personally, one might think Flock is doing a good job, for now, providing their service and explaining to the public what they do. So why does it feel unsettling?
The bigger issue has nothing to do with Flock Safety. The real problem is that America has been sliding down the slippery slope of privacy erosion for the last 15 years. We're sure Flock employees would say they collect less data than any app on your phone and it is not that different from your state’s DMV selling your data. Flock just passes their data on us directly to the police without my consent.
Americans should be concerned with how data is being collected on them and where it happens. China has long tracked its citizens' movements and the US seems to be more than willing to follow them down that path. Flock gives us the opportunity as communities to discuss how our data should or should not be collected in public and what is done with it so that it can’t be abused, sold, or leveraged in the future.