Colorado Newsline: The use of Flock cameras in Colorado exemplifies the dark side of government surveillance. Proponents tout their law enforcement utility, but the outsize risk they pose to targeted residents and their contribution to Big Brother conditions in the state far outweigh any legitimate use to which they’re put.

Flock Safety cameras, often affixed to utility infrastructure above streets, capture images of passing vehicles from which information, particularly license plate numbers, is documented in a sharable and searchable database. The company has said its cameras are present in more than 5,000 communities across the country, including 75 in Colorado. They include Colorado Springs, Boulder, Durango, Longmont and Castle Rock.  

Concerns about Flock intensified this year as the Trump administration implemented its mass deportation policies, which unaccountable federal agents have carried out through kidnappings, the transfer of detainees to foreign prisons and other abuses.

Visit Colorado Newsline for more.