Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

engadget.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

271–280 of 354 posts

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#271

Post by Manuel_D »

fc417fc802 wrote: post #269
Manuel_D wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you think ALPR cameras worked during the 90s? Do you think a technician had to go through each camera individually looking for license plates? The data was aggregated and indexed even during the 90s. Some of those databases were national. The same criticisms being levied at flock would also apply to the status quo 20+ years ago.

Again you are pointing out the similarities while conveniently ignoring the things that have changed. It has been a continuous gradual slide. The publicized flock examples make clear that the nature and scope of the queries that can be run against modern systems are far beyond what was possible in the 90s. The databases are also far larger. You are the person arguing that because you're allowed to pick up a pebble it…

Where's the basis for the claim that Flock was the first nation-wide ALPR aggregator? The source mentions that Flock aggregated data on a national level, but doesn't say that it was the first to do so. In fact it doesn't really offer any tangible thing that differentiates this from the decades old systems that predate flock.

It's more like trucks are have been mining gravel from this pit for decades, and the courts have repeatedly affirmed that it's legal to one gravel.

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#272

Post by billfor »

righthand wrote: post #260
nailer wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, he's describing someone so stoned out of their mind they don't know how to drink a soda. I feel most people would read his comment and understand that.

And that isnt a crime. It’s a strawman trying to say it’s a crime.

I didn’t read his comment as saying it was a crime. Parent was commenting about feeling unsafe. People walking around stoned and trying to drink a soda bottle upside down does make some people feel unsafe because you don’t know what their next move is. Incidents like this have become more common in the last 10 years.

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#273

Post by greenleafone7 »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #19
greenleafone7 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is possible. What keeps japanese cities safe'er', is not the cameras though.

It’s the culture. Every Japanese person is always aware that they are “a part of society.” Even the Yakuza participate in society. When they have big disasters, the local mobsters are usually helping people out, before the authorities can get going.

You participate and feel that you belong to a society in the same way you would do for a family. The members have to be your own. This has been empirically shown to be true in every single case. If I force my way in your house and you are legally obligated to consider me part of your family, you might for a while, but your level of participation and your willingness for it will drop by a lot. Pretending it isn't so will not help anyone, it will make things harder. Japan, to their credit, does not pretend.

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#274

Post by loteck »

tptacek wrote: post #168
Cider9986 wrote: post #105

They're also getting banned fast. The city level should be the most accessible government for change. There's been over 70[1] documented wins. Don't feel like this is a lost cause, it clearly isn't. If everyone who was going to comment on this thread instead or additionally got involved by going to a city council meeting and explaining the problems to friends/family, many more cities could reject them. [1] https://de…

They're not getting banned fast, and regulation isn't a lost cause. Flock, in particular, is getting contracts cancelled primarily in ultra-liberal municipalities, and that's in large part because of their public relationship with the current federal administration. But ALPRs are going up everywhere; they're a commodity technology. We canceled our Flock contract (I wasn't psyched about that) and we're ringed by munis…

I came in to the thread anticipating a highly placed tptacek comment defending Flock without grappling with any of their numerous problems, and claiming that "regular people" love Flock. Weird how predictable that's become.

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#275

Post by explodes »

ibejoeb wrote: post #240
CircuitSeuss wrote: post #212

Seeing commenters defending privatized mass surveillance tech in 2026 is crazy.

Flock is a YC company, right? https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety

How many people here are YC people? Using Google doesn't make you a Google employee.

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#276

Post by explodes »

Manuel_D wrote: post #180
microgpt wrote: post #121

It's legal for any random citizen to build one of these surveillance networks, right?

Correct, at least in the US you can record people in public pretty much at any time.

An individual setting up a network of 200-400 cameras throughout a city would not be lega because of property usage I would assume. Not necessarily because of the recording. A llone person doing this would definitely raise more eyebrows.

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#277

Post by explodes »

crises-luff-6b wrote: post #72

There is no expectation of privacy in public. It's really that simple.

There is a difference between one or even twenty pictures being taken of you, and hundreds or thousands of pictures. One is "public privacy" and the other is "dragnet stalking".

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#278

Post by nielsbot »

tptacek wrote: post #168
Cider9986 wrote: post #105

They're also getting banned fast. The city level should be the most accessible government for change. There's been over 70[1] documented wins. Don't feel like this is a lost cause, it clearly isn't. If everyone who was going to comment on this thread instead or additionally got involved by going to a city council meeting and explaining the problems to friends/family, many more cities could reject them. [1] https://de…

They're not getting banned fast, and regulation isn't a lost cause. Flock, in particular, is getting contracts cancelled primarily in ultra-liberal municipalities, and that's in large part because of their public relationship with the current federal administration. But ALPRs are going up everywhere; they're a commodity technology. We canceled our Flock contract (I wasn't psyched about that) and we're ringed by munis…

you have no concerns about erosion of privacy or mass surveillance of innocents? i don’t get it.

Re: Flock cameras track more than your license plate, and they're spreading fast

#279

Post by IncreasePosts »

maccard wrote: post #233
IncreasePosts wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any competent llm would write a script using opencv to extract the license plates. I did this with Gemini 3, mostly for fun and to test it's capabilities. Teslausb records all dash cam videos and auto syncs it to my nas when in wifi range. Yolo and opencv extracts and does ocr on any defected license plate, and puts it all on a map, along with trip information. Not particularly useful or interesting, and not somethin…

By that logic, all problems are solved by LLMs. If that was true, then there's no reason for any products to exist for anything anymore.

I think the key word is on "any one". Personally, I know how do to the work, I just didn't want to because it provided minimum value to me. But I didn't actually need to know how to do it, because the llm produced perfect results for me without needing to prompt it with any specifics
Post reply on HN