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Federal judge calls Flock 'indiscriminate mass surveillance'

483 points · 267 comments · sbulaev

  1. JKCalhoun · · focus · HN ↗
    License plate reader?

    So the device should require very specific license plates to scan for—not the current dragnet. The software should only "ping" when there is a confident match with said license plate(s)—and merely log which license plate, time stamp a single photo, and note the confidence level of it being a match.

    The frame buffer should be the only place (a frame of) video is ever stored at all (excepting the high-confidence match indicated above).

    The only issue remaining would be whether we trust the device/software to have complied (and not have a backdoor) and of course there needs to be a legal warrant for every license plate uploaded (and it should expire fairly frequently, likely requiring a new warrant to continue canning for the plate).

    1. StanislavPetrov · · focus · HN ↗
      Describing these mass surveillance devices as "license plate readers" is a deliberate tactic to deceive people about their actual use and capability. Flock cameras record everything, not just license plates. They record the faces and bodies of the driver and the passengers that are visible through the windows. They record and analyze all the little dings, bumper stickers and other unique elements of a vehicle above and beyond license plates. They are regularly deployed and used in areas like footpaths where there is no vehicle traffic at all.
      1. TimeBearingDown · · focus · HN ↗
        Just to add, some can identify Bluetooth signals, and I wouldn’t be surprised if identification via direct TPMS (tire pressure) is added eventually.
        1. bix6 · · focus · HN ↗
          What do you mean direct TPMS ID? Read all 4 tires as a fingerprint? Can you do that remotely at speed?
          1. Terr_ · · focus · HN ↗
            I think the main difficulty is how infrequently the devices broadcast.

            You don't need to look at all tires to make a match, but the more a car has, the more likely one will be broadcasting during the window for detection.

            1. Barbing · · focus · HN ↗
              Tire kicking suddenly a sign of privacy mindedness, not rude Craigslist window shopping behavior
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