Flock - a company that makes cameras used by police for surveillance - is getting lots of press these days. Most of it not so great.
As people from across the political spectrum raise concerns about a surveillance state, limited government, and civil liberties, we need leaders who are ready to tackle the issues posed by Flock (and similar companies) head on.
Democrat Jerri Green is ready.
We aren’t talking about following one suspect. We’re talking about creating a record of where hundreds of thousands of ordinary Tennesseans drive.
As Green points out:
That should concern conservatives who believe in limited government.
It should concern progressives who believe in civil liberties.
And it should concern anyone who believes that innocent people shouldn’t have to surrender their rights simply because they drove down the road.
And, she proposes taking action to rein-in Flock and friends:
Tennessee needs clear statewide rules governing automated license plate readers. We need limits on how long data can be stored. We need transparency about who can access it and when. We need meaningful audits and real consequences when someone abuses the system. And we need clear limits on sharing information outside the agency or jurisdiction that collected it.
Because the issue isn’t only what government can do with this technology today, it’s what government could do with it tomorrow.
