From Futurism · Frank Landymore · · 1m 20s
Trump backs the camera company nobody likes
Flock Safety's reputation is at rock bottom, and the president just gave it a thumbs up.
In brief
Flock Safety's reputation is at rock bottom, and the president just gave it a thumbs up. Trump endorsed a surveillance network at the exact moment it lost public trust, and he skipped even the usual safety pitch. Originally reported by Futurism.
Trump picks a side
The president gave his first public endorsement of Flock Safety, the company running a national network of AI cameras and license plate scanners.
“I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement, but some people don't.”
A reversal from last month
As recently as last month he dodged the question entirely, refusing to say what he thought of the technology. Now he is on the record.
120,000 cameras, little oversight
Flock pitches its network as traffic enforcement and crime fighting. Communities woke up to a centralized surveillance system they never voted on.
Cops caught misusing it
A Washington Post investigation found more than fifty cases of officers abusing Flock and similar systems, including to stalk women.
Innocent people swarmed
Malfunctions and misuse have sent armed police after people who did nothing wrong, a journalist among them. An Ohio grand jury refused to indict a man filmed destroying a Flock pole.
Even allies are backing away
Flock's CEO apologized publicly and insisted the company is "not Big Brother." Ron DeSantis called the cameras out of control. Trump offered no safety pitch at all.
“out of control”
In short
Trump endorsed a surveillance network at the exact moment it lost public trust, and he skipped even the usual safety pitch.
