The problem is the accountability, but we can't fix this by just forcing them to modify the software. We have to fix the incentives

It's not only that we need police to have a signed warrant or adding auditing and punishing the cops who misuse the system, because this is only one symptom of the root problem

It's deeper than just the misuse, it's also that these systems don't care about security. It's also that these companies are happy to sell this information to anyone willing to pay. It's also that police blindly trust the output of these systems without verifying the information

We can't legislate rules to make these systems work. They'll never work, because no one is responsible when they don't

That's the actual problem we have to fix.

Private companies should not be allowed to possess this data at any point. They want to sell cameras and sell software to search through the data? Fine.

But flock can't own the data. Flock employees can't have access to it. Police should only be allowed use them in their own jurisdiction. If they want to track someone across the country, they should be in the FBI

We need to protect this data the way we do health records. We need HIPPA laws for individual privacy, because without clear legal restrictions on the who can own and access the data, this entire concept is a constant mass constitutional violation

And it goes far beyond the cameras... Credit card companies will sell our purchase history to anyone for a couple hundred dollars. Phone manufacturers and cell providers will sell our location data to the police and private companies. Black box systems will mislabel innocent people for crimes they didn't commit, leading to arrests and unjust jail time for those not in a position to defend themselves. And these are real world examples happening now

This problem has been around for a while, it's just that the cameras have finally gotten people to pay attention to the ongoing violations against us all

We can't let private companies trade our personal data just because they are able to collect it.

We need to treat this data like health information, with strict access rules and certifications that the information is properly protected, and consequences that will make both police organizations and private companies have an incentive to care

Even if we made the flock cameras illegal, without a new HIPPA for privacy they'll just find new ways to collect the information and continue to violate our rights