It feels like there’s no end to the Flock surveillance panic across the country, but many people find one particular AI-powered camera in Tennessee rather concerning. Posted to r/FlockSurveillance by Democrateas, a photo was uploaded showing a Flock Condor installed directly beside a community splash pad and playground in Johnson City. This is the same city where authorities allegedly “went out of their way to protect” a child predator, according to a comment-shared Tennessee Lookout report.
As the poster Democrateas also added, Johnson City is also part of Washington County, the same county whose school board had a member accused of publicly sexually harassing a minor, causing quite the uproar. Needless to say, hardly anyone believes that this Flock Condor, a model specifically used to track human movement and faces, should have been installed in such a location as a water playground.
“That needs to go now,” wrote a commenter, with hundreds upvoting in agreement. “That could literally only be used to watch children in bathing suits. Get it gone!” exclaimed another. “That’s straight up predatory!” Others chimed in, discussing who in the city council might have access to whatever this particular camera sees. “Epstein class upgrades to flock cameras to look at young children,” remarked a third.
Countless more expressed their disgust and disapproval at the camera’s location. While the authorities could argue that it’s nothing more than “for the children’s safety,” Reddit users believe otherwise and feel as though whoever decided on this is far from trustworthy.
Many posts shared online display how bold Flock has been getting with the authority legally given to them. One mother in Virginia couldn’t believe a gun sensor was installed by her living room, and dozens of innocent people have been reportedly arrested and detained because of Flock’s AI errors, The Institute for Justice says. Though practical, the technology is still far from perfect, and many citizens are losing hope in their local leaders to do the right thing regarding surveillance.
In the end, protecting children is undoubtedly important, but people wonder who protects the children from those who are supposed to protect the children. Regardless of whether this Flock camera by a Tennessee community splash pad is ideal or not, many are very, very concerned.
