Axon says cops are asking it to make its automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) look different from Flock cameras because Flock vandalism has become so widespread, according to comments Axon’s CEO made in a now deleted webinar.
The comments highlight how Axon is trying to take advantage of sustained opposition against Flock's license plate cameras, with one law enforcement customer suggesting a camera redesign would “help with the optics while we batten down the hatches” as the backlash spreads.
As 404 Media has reported, some towns and cities are switching from Flock to Axon’s cameras after cops did lookups for ICE in Flock, tracked a woman who self-administered an abortion, and have repeatedly abused their access to stalk ex-spouses. ALPRs constantly scan the license plate, brand, model, and other identifying features of all vehicles that drive past the camera and then make this timestamped log of activity searchable by law enforcement without a warrant.
In an August 26 webinar that was hosted on Axon’s official Vimeo page called “From backlash to trust,” Axon Chief Customer Officer Mike Wagers took a question from the remote audience and asked, “is there any talk — and there has been talk — to redesign Outpost, our fixed ALPR camera, to not look exactly like a Flock camera?”
“We are looking at [...] do we change the general shape,” Rick Smith, Axon’s CEO, replied. At another point in the webinar, Smith brought up Axon’s Lightpost product, which is an ALPR and AI-powered camera that attaches to an existing streetlight. “Frankly, we’ve had a lot of customers saying, hey, we’d like something that looks different because there is all this blowback. It's harder to vandalize because it's up higher,” he said.
Smith also said, “We’ve had some people say they’d like to see us make just a different camera, because our ALPR camera looks like an ALPR camera.” Another idea Smith brought up, pending customer feedback, is to go in the other direction and make ALPRs more explicit, with signs showing where they are located and a description of the city’s ALPR policies.
*Edit: it just occurred to me what all these cameras are. Its the same as in the old days when the French British monarchies sationed troops on the street corner because of their fear: the British because they were cramping down on their colonies, and the French because they were scared of their own people. In fact, America's debt problem closely resembles how it was leadinging up to and during the Meeting of the Estates General. There, handsom giveaways were given to the wealthy 2 estates at the expense of the common man's estate. This was all while France was drowning in national debt (seem familiar?).
To combat the unrest, the monarchies stationed troops on the street corners. These cameras are the same thing from the Epstein class; tracking where the citizenry goes and who they are with. This doesn't seem like it'll end well.
It’s not really about ALPRs though. ALPRs have been in use in some form since the 1970s. The issue is the information they gather and where it goes.
This focused hatred of “ALPRs” is good in the short term to drive change but not in the long term for sustainable action.
For example, all consumer automobiles in the US require front-facing collision avoidance cameras by 2029 under federal automotive safety laws. Tack an ALPR system on, use the built in cellular and satellite collections and all of a sudden every vehicle becomes an ALPR camera on wheels.
People are filmed and photographed all the time these days; think things like business CCTV, home camera systems like Ring, pre-existing DOT cameras, dash cams, people filming their lives and everywhere they go etc. etc.
In the long term people need to control the collection and use of the data and establish some significant penalties for misuse. It would be nice if, in the US, we could establish that any data gathered by ALPRs is covered under the 4th amendment and require a warrant for starters.
I also think the data should be required to be stored by the government agency utilizing it, no third parties.