EFF finds weak oversight and misuse in US Flock camera network

A new investigation by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), reported by TechRadar, found that police officers are using the Flock camera surveillance system without providing legitimate reasons. In one case, an officer in Lake County, Indiana, searched more than 19,000 cameras while entering “LMAO” as the justification. Other entries included “idiot,” “sh*thead,” “Hehe,” and “WEIRD KID.”

The justification field is one of the few oversight measures in the US automated license plate reader (ALPR) network, which contains 82,413 cameras nationwide. The network does not require a warrant and can be used to track almost any vehicle without a stated reason. EFF said officers who entered bogus justifications were “counseled” rather than disciplined. One department also missed a 90-day deadline to refer an officer for an internal investigation.

The investigation also described a breach involving one Flock camera. After previously denying such an incident, Flock was linked to a case in which hackers stole an encryption key and extracted more than 27,000 video clips and 1.6 million images recorded over 21 days.

A recent survey found that almost half of Americans oppose the Flock network. Columbus, Ohio, paused its use, while Florida and Texas reduced their use of Flock systems.