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The CEO of Flock, Garrett Langley, called Deflock a terrorist group. It's unhinged. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-kZGrDz7PU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

The CEO of Flock, Garrett Langley, called Deflock a terrorist group. It's unhinged. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-kZGrDz7PU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-kZGrDz7PU

therobots927 10mo ago
Expect more of this. The masks are coming off. “Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing? Yes! The danger must be growing For the rowers keep on rowing And they're certainly not showing Any signs that they are slowing!” - Willie Wonka
whycombinetor 10mo ago
[flagged]
- BobaFloutist 10mo ago
  How are they conspiring to destroy it? Are you saying that coordinating attempts to change policy counts as destroying the previous policy, or are you drawing a line from identifying and locating the cameras to (possibly other) people actively vandalizing them?
- jjwiseman 10mo ago
  If they were doing that, that would be a criminal conspiracy, not terrorism. Authoritarians often like to call ordinary criminals, political opponents, and dissenters terrorists to delegitimize them and justify harsher behavior against them. I assume that's what Garrett Langley was trying to do when he called them a "terroristic organization". Luckily for DeFlock they're not doing anything "terroristic" or even criminal.
- brendoelfrendo 10mo ago
  As another commenter said, it's a criminal conspiracy or something to that effect. If terrorism is supposed to be the use of violence against non-combatants to attain a political or ideological goal... then would de-Flock be anti-terrorism? Removing Flock cameras makes me feel less terrorized.
saubeidl 10mo ago
"like Antifa". Very telling how he uses a far-right boogeyman as comparison point, literally antifascists. If you're anti-antifascist, you are exposing yourself.
superultra 10mo ago
I live in an Atlanta neighborhood where one of the founders lived. A prototype for Flock Camera was designed by three Georgia Tech grads because someone kept breaking into their car (not uncommon in our neighborhood tbh). The trick is that the camera was pointed towards a middle school. Which means they were constantly recording kids without adult consent. Now, years later, Atlanta is the most surveilled city in North America and one of the most in the world. Flock cameras are everywhere. There are 124 cameras for every 1,000 people. Just last week, a ex-urb police chef was arrested for using the Flock network to stalk and harass citizens. I know a lot of people who work at Flock. I’m shocked that they do though. I don’t know when it stops.
- kawfey 10mo ago
  That makes a lot of sense… I’m in the rich/middle class north Atlanta burbs visiting family, and the entrance to every cul-de-sac has a flock LPR pointing inwards. I didn’t notice it at all last year but the cameras were there. Benn blew the cap off and now they’re omnipresent.
- hattmall 10mo ago
  And car break-ins aren't happening any less frequently.
- torben-friis 10mo ago
  >There are 124 cameras for every 1,000 people How does that make any kind of economic sense? Morals aside, that’s a ridiculous amount of devices, data collected and transmitted, and so on.
  - MPSimmons 10mo ago
    Gonna have to write more speeding tickets to pay for these, I guess
  - mothballed 10mo ago
    The cameras don't make economic sense unless the goal is to enrich contractors or generate money on speed/red light tickets. The bottleneck in solving crime is going after the criminals. There's already not enough resources to go after the crimes that are open and shut.
FireBeyond 10mo ago
He has said his goal is for a "world with no crime. Thanks to Flock." and his goal is not aspirational, visionary, but quite literal. He sees false negatives as more problematic than false positives. He has admitted being inspired by Minority Report (to me it's always very telling when someone takes a cautionary tale like this and finds it "inspirational"). It is right to be amazingly concerned.
- CPLX 10mo ago
  Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus
  - kjkjadksj 10mo ago
    Show HN: Torment nexus. Built in Rust (YC W25).
    - fouc 10mo ago
      Oof, that felt too real. I'm half torn making that a reality before someone else does. That's often the thing about these torment nexuses, they're somehow profitable.

The CEO of Flock, Garrett Langley, called Deflock a terrorist group. It's unhinged. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-kZGrDz7PU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-kZGrDz7PU

therobots927 10mo ago

Expect more of this. The masks are coming off. “Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing? Yes! The danger must be growing For the rowers keep on rowing And they're certainly not showing Any signs that they are slowing!” - Willie Wonka

whycombinetor 10mo ago

[flagged]

BobaFloutist 10mo ago
How are they conspiring to destroy it? Are you saying that coordinating attempts to change policy counts as destroying the previous policy, or are you drawing a line from identifying and locating the cameras to (possibly other) people actively vandalizing them?
jjwiseman 10mo ago
If they were doing that, that would be a criminal conspiracy, not terrorism. Authoritarians often like to call ordinary criminals, political opponents, and dissenters terrorists to delegitimize them and justify harsher behavior against them. I assume that's what Garrett Langley was trying to do when he called them a "terroristic organization". Luckily for DeFlock they're not doing anything "terroristic" or even criminal.
brendoelfrendo 10mo ago
As another commenter said, it's a criminal conspiracy or something to that effect. If terrorism is supposed to be the use of violence against non-combatants to attain a political or ideological goal... then would de-Flock be anti-terrorism? Removing Flock cameras makes me feel less terrorized.

saubeidl 10mo ago

"like Antifa". Very telling how he uses a far-right boogeyman as comparison point, literally antifascists. If you're anti-antifascist, you are exposing yourself.

superultra 10mo ago

I live in an Atlanta neighborhood where one of the founders lived. A prototype for Flock Camera was designed by three Georgia Tech grads because someone kept breaking into their car (not uncommon in our neighborhood tbh). The trick is that the camera was pointed towards a middle school. Which means they were constantly recording kids without adult consent. Now, years later, Atlanta is the most surveilled city in North America and one of the most in the world. Flock cameras are everywhere. There are 124 cameras for every 1,000 people. Just last week, a ex-urb police chef was arrested for using the Flock network to stalk and harass citizens. I know a lot of people who work at Flock. I’m shocked that they do though. I don’t know when it stops.

kawfey 10mo ago
That makes a lot of sense… I’m in the rich/middle class north Atlanta burbs visiting family, and the entrance to every cul-de-sac has a flock LPR pointing inwards. I didn’t notice it at all last year but the cameras were there. Benn blew the cap off and now they’re omnipresent.
hattmall 10mo ago
And car break-ins aren't happening any less frequently.
torben-friis 10mo ago
>There are 124 cameras for every 1,000 people How does that make any kind of economic sense? Morals aside, that’s a ridiculous amount of devices, data collected and transmitted, and so on.
- MPSimmons 10mo ago
  Gonna have to write more speeding tickets to pay for these, I guess
- mothballed 10mo ago
  The cameras don't make economic sense unless the goal is to enrich contractors or generate money on speed/red light tickets. The bottleneck in solving crime is going after the criminals. There's already not enough resources to go after the crimes that are open and shut.

FireBeyond 10mo ago

He has said his goal is for a "world with no crime. Thanks to Flock." and his goal is not aspirational, visionary, but quite literal. He sees false negatives as more problematic than false positives. He has admitted being inspired by Minority Report (to me it's always very telling when someone takes a cautionary tale like this and finds it "inspirational"). It is right to be amazingly concerned.

CPLX 10mo ago
Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus
- kjkjadksj 10mo ago
  Show HN: Torment nexus. Built in Rust (YC W25).
  - fouc 10mo ago
    Oof, that felt too real. I'm half torn making that a reality before someone else does. That's often the thing about these torment nexuses, they're somehow profitable.