Detroit-Area Lawmaker Pushes Back Against Flock Cameras

Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib wants to remove and prohibit flock cameras and other mass surveillance technologies.

Tlaib on Wednesday introduced the Get the Flock Out of Our Communities Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to purchase or operate any automated mass surveillance systems.

It would also require state and local governments to divest from such systems to remain eligible for certain federal law enforcement grants.

"The mass surveillance crisis is not a dystopian fantasy—it is already here. Our children and neighbors cannot go to the park, drive down the street, go to work, or exercise their Constitutional rights without their privacy being breached," Tlaib said. "Flock’s technology isn’t making us safer. Instead it has been used to stalk people, mis-identify and arrest innocent people, surveil protestors, and wrongfully record our neighbors."

More than 200 cities and counties across Michigan, including Westland and Lincoln Park, have cancelled their Flock contracts due to resident outrage.

"Flock cameras are overall dangerous to a free society," said Geri Biggs, Dearborn resident and community advocate. "There have already been cases cited where individuals have been illegally stalked, including young women, by individuals in positions of power with nefarious intentions."