Severe oversight flaw - cops abuse Flock network for "LMAO" searches
Surveillance gone LOL.
A Flock search map of the US with a reason given of "LMAO." Image by Cybernews.
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- EFF found police entered joke, offensive, or meaningless reasons when searching Flock’s camera database.
- A Lake County, Indiana officer searched more than 19,000 cameras with “LMAO” as the stated reason.
- Some departments counseled officers or avoided discipline after questionable searches, according to EFF records.
- The findings add to concerns about weak oversight of Flock’s surveillance system.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
In a chilling demonstration of how mass surveillance is routinely abused, a Lake County, Indiana cop utilized Flock's expansive network to search over 19,000 cameras for the official reason of “LMAO”.
A new analysis by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) revealed how cops used the reason box as a toy, putting in a range of trivial acronyms, as well as childish and offensive phrases.
Across various jurisdictions, officers bypassed the due diligence of search justification, instead inputting things like “Hehe,” “WEIRD KID,” and “robbery I don’t remember the case number leave me alone”.
The most extreme and unprofessional search attempts, however, were even conducted for mass searches, with some officers logging mass searches under reasons like “idiot,” “shithead,” and “fuck this new search engine”.
The EFF highlighted this negligent misuse, stating:
Police are routinely searching the Flock database without providing any legitimate justification, making a mockery of our civil liberties,said the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
The surveillance system has had its fair share of continued controversy, including tracking citizens who are doing nothing on foot, cops using Flock to stalk ex-romantic partners, and even being used to track someone who carried out an abortion.
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The transparency black hole
When confronted by the EFF, one department claimed officers who searched for reasons like “hehe” and “idk” were simply “counseled” rather than facing strict disciplinary action.
One officer who labeled a search "idiot” evaded discipline because the respective police department missed the deadline of a 90 day internal investigation window, as per the rules of the police union.
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The Fishers Police Department in Indiana also protected a detective who logged searches as "blah," citing the reason of "the technology is not moving fast enough for him".
Meanwhile, another department deemed that an officer tracking a citizen for the stated reason of “driving around being weird” was akin to public safety policing.
Overall, as the Flock system needed more regulatory measures, the “reason” box ultimately proved to be an eye-opening police behavior barometer instead.
