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- Hacker News
- Thanks for acting out my daydream, Carl.by Barbing
- You US citizens don't seem to realise just how legal/lucky you are.
I'm Irish. We're way more legal than you.
Listen to anyone from China.
by eointierney - This post has just dropped from the top three to #72 on the third page (heavy downvotes/flagging?).by Barbing
- It's not flagged, more likely @dang or @tomhow got a call from Flock.by indoorfish
- Spying on citizens just in case. Reminds me some countries.by FpUser
- If I made an app that showed their locations and gamified knocking them out (subtly), would that get me in legal trouble?by dyauspitr
- No need to damage the cameras, just place some balloons in front of them.by indy
- Make it a web app and host it in a different country? Probably also depends on the mechanics of the game though as well..by Dig1t
- I hope a (civil rights) lawyer will reply. I’m curious too.by nielsbot
- The article already links to a website that shows their locations: https://deflock.org/
It does not gamify or otherwise encourage damaging them, which would be legally risky.
by Zak - In a country where not attending a protest gets you 30 years in prison, and attending a protest where you set off a firework gets you 70, and where a government thug can pin you down and execute you on the sidewalk, and get recognized for his heroism and bravery... you tell me.by vkou
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incitement#United_States
If done obliquely enough... e.g., just making a tracker and having the ability for people to report broken cameras, you're probably fine in theory. In practice, this is a litigious society, so you'd want to build this anonymously.
by anematode - Curious if hoisting an Ipad on the end of his pool skimmer that just showed a video of random cars and their license plates, causing the camera to register a bunch of false positives?by Aboutplants
- It's likely illegal in Florida (where this happened). They made it illegal to paint stuff on your cars that would trick ALPR or surveillance camerasby culi
- That's a fun idea! I wonder if it'd work if you just used something like an e-Ink screen and had it generate random license plates?
I suppose "blocking the view of surveillance cameras" is probably illegal though.
by biztos - Equally informative title: A 77-year-old lactose-intolerant man is staging a solo protest against St. Pete’s Flock cameras
- It's relevant that supporters of the party of "law and order" and "tough on crime" are anti-Flock too.by culi
- > “We’re private citizens; we don’t need this stuff,” Gunn told CL. “And they’re reporting now that the Chinese have already picked up all of our voter registrations. They’re picking up more information on us, on how we live, and you know there’s a reason for it.”
This is the kind of comment that makes me think that a person is old - and therefore has had their values shaped by the concerns of the mid-20th-century - gets most of their information about the world via cable news, and isn't thinking very carefully about what is and is not likely to be a problem in their life. My dad, of similar age to this person, constantly gets angry about the Chinese getting some kind of information about ordinary American citizens, while being unable to clearly articulate exactly what this information is and why specifically this is a problem.
by JuniperMesos - Leverage. Some of those people will turn out to be significant political figures.
We live in an information-driven world. Our economy is driven by information. Geopolitics is driven by information. War is driven by information.
An historically adversarial competitor country that is able to slowly amass lengthy dossiers on our public figures private lives will have an asymmetrical advantage in any geopolitical engagement. This doesn't even require scandal, the traditional leverage. Just the ability to see a few of someone's cards makes knowing what move they will make next, and what bluffs to call, significantly easier.
For the record, I don't think our own government, or any other, should have this information either. As was demonstrated back in 2015 by CA, this type of information can be used to effectively manipulate and influence people's decisions.
by Atreiden - These cameras aren't just invasive, they are expensive. Cities are paying a pretty penny to access a few web cams.
Last I looked it up, $2500 per year per camera in the surveillance area.
by cogman10 - They are also installed improperly https://www.wate.com/news/tennessee/flock-cameras-tennessee-...by dagurp
- That doesn't sound expensive to me. Not compared to, say, a $1.7M public toilet[0].
To be clear, I do not support Flock cameras.
[0]: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-francisco/san-fran...
by hamandcheese - Why does it matter his political party? Many otherwise good people have fallen for a con of some sort at least once at some point it their life. The man has some time and uses it in a non destructive manner to do what he thinks will help his community rather than just posting nonsense online, that in itself is commendable . I find the article trying to forment division by naming him a Republican...who cares, human privacy and the imbalance of power is something every American and even non Americans should care about.by jubilee33
- Because the modern GOP is itself a con. Its great that he is protesting flock cameras but he should also be protesting his own party, which is engaged in unprecedented corruption, murders american civilians, attacks democracy, and seeks to disenfranchise our daughters and wives.
I cannot stand it that disingenous and ignorant people pretend this isn't the case, you can all go to hell.
by JMKH42 - Because the media in the USA gives a good deal more credence and puts more importance on conservatives. They do the same for rural people. That's probably a reflection of our politics.by bediger4000
- ya. classic tactic to label someone so there's pattern matching for readers. happens everywhere unfortunately.by carimura
- “ The man has some time and uses it in a non destructive manner to do what he thinks will help his community rather than just posting nonsense online “
Best comment this week, so far.
by RickJWagner - I'd wager it has something to do with this: https://www.cltampa.com/news/creative-loafing-tampa-bay-has-....by aliasxneo
- It is at least somewhat relevant.
A persons political persuasion can tell you something about their values, and the policies they would prefer enacted for a given topic.
Republicans AFAIK have not been on the crusade to end mass surveillance or promote privacy laws to regulate big tech, so seeing a republican man stand up for this right might help you understand that the sentiment of the party is not unanimous.
by Rebuff5007 - Being against mass-surveillance should be a bipartisan struggle. Given our political polarization, each side is highly distrustful about what "the other side" will do with mass amounts of data about their side. This should be a cause that unites everyone.by ryandrake