Flock cameras may be getting all the attention, but what else is happening behind the scenes?
In this episode of Banish Big Brother, Zach and Elizabeth look at the growing surveillance infrastructure being built into everyday life.
We discuss a Wisconsin police department installing Flock cameras without notifying city leaders, a Tennessee sheriff refusing license plate readers because the cost to freedom is too high, and the Institute for Justice’s new database documenting abuses of automated license plate readers.
Then we zoom out. Atlanta gas stations are required to maintain surveillance cameras, while Rialto, California has required surveillance systems as a condition for a certificate of occupancy. We talk about the growing trend of governments finding ways to make private surveillance part of the public surveillance apparatus.
From there, we ask where this is all heading: facial recognition, voice recognition, brain-wave monitoring, emotion detection, predictive policing, temperature sensors, smart streetlights, and the possibility of connecting all of these systems into a massive surveillance network.
We also discuss 15-minute cities, centralized control over movement, the dangers of predictive surveillance, and why seemingly harmless technologies can become something very different when they’re combined into a larger system.
Zach Varnell
Zach Varnell is a cybersecurity expert and advocate for privacy and individual liberty. He is a founding member of Banish Big Brother, a nonprofit dedicated to combating invasive surveillance. He also runs Asteros, a security firm that helps software teams and compliance-driven organizations understand and reduce their real-world risk. His insights have been featured in publications like Infosecurity Magazine, Threatpost, ZDNET, and the Washington Examiner.