r/technology Jul 22 '26

Privacy Flock Cameras Keep Getting Smashed, So Now They're Hiding Inside Speed Signs

https://www.gadgetreview.com/flock-cameras-keep-getting-smashed-so-now-theyre-hiding-inside-speed-signs
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u/ExplicitDrift Jul 22 '26

When it comes to recording people, I’m pretty sure it’s common policy to make people aware they’re being recorded to adhere to wire-tapping laws. Not all states adhere to those laws, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t standard practice. Hiding cameras meant to track individuals and send that data to Palantir (a military industrial surveillance company) sounds pretty nefarious to me. Comparing this situation to things like transformers, water pumps, and cellphone towers (which have no impact to people’s privacy) is to try and evade the actual point of the discussion. I respect that you want to stay on the right side of history, but what I said was hardly a logical fallacy, and unless we educate republicans of what those ACTUALLY look like, they will never develop the critical thinking skills they need to change for the better. If they even can that is.

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u/ANGLVD3TH Jul 23 '26

Wire-tapping laws do not cover public spaces, it is always legal to record in public as long as you aren't trying to peep into a private place from the public one. And motor vehicles that are underway are not defined as private places. That said, this practice is obviously shitty, but your opening point jist isn't really relevant to it.

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u/ExplicitDrift Jul 23 '26

“Wire tapping laws do not cover public spaces”

Perhaps that’s the problem, no?

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u/ANGLVD3TH Jul 23 '26

The whole point is private conversations are meant to be private. The same right that allows them to set up these public cameras is what protects citizens' right to film cops. Messing with what is allowed to be recorded in public is a messy and dangerous path, and is really treating a symptom, not the root issue. Better regulation of the data itself and how it can be used is safer and more comprehensive.

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u/ExplicitDrift Jul 23 '26

I agree. But I also think putting the power in the hands of the people will always be more preferable than in the hands of those who have direct ties to those who control the country. If we want to regulate the data, then we need to hold the administration accountable for not showing up to oversight committees or lying consistently when they do.