Beware the surveillance cameras.
Hundreds of AI-powered automated license plate reading cameras paid for by Lowe’s and Home Depot and stationed in the hardware stores’ parking lots are being fed into a massive surveillance system that law enforcement can access, according to records obtained using a public records request.
The records, obtained from the Johnson County, Texas Sheriff’s Office by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and shared with 404 Media, show the sheriff’s office is able to tap into Flock license plate reading cameras at 173 different Lowe’s locations around the U.S. and that it can tap into cameras and gunshot-detecting microphones at dozens of Home Depot stores within Texas. The records are the latest to shed light on how expansive Flock’s surveillance network has become, and highlights that it includes cameras that are operated by both police and private businesses.
“What we’re learning is that two of the country’s most popular home improvement stores are contributing to the massive surveillance dragnet coordinated by Flock Safety,” Dave Maass, director of investigations at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told 404 Media. “Do customers know that these stores are collecting their data and sharing indiscriminately? Probably not. Have these companies given thought about how this data might put their customers in danger, whether it’s cops stalking their exes or aggressive ICE agents targeting yard workers? Probably not. If these companies want customers to feel safe in their homes, then they should make sure they’re also safe where they buy their supplies.”
Flock’s automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras are stationed along roads or at entrances to parking lots around the United States, and constantly scan the license plates of cars that drive by. Because there are Flock cameras around the country, Flock often has a snapshot of people’s movements which police can search, typically without a warrant.
Government agencies that have Flock cameras can choose to contribute their data to either a statewide or nationwide network, meaning cops around the state or country can access them. Flock told 404 Media that Flock cameras operated by private companies have more restrictive sharing options.
Flock said data sharing from private businesses to law enforcement is on a one-to-one basis, and that private businesses do not have national or statewide sharing options in the same way a law enforcement agency might. In other words, each business and agency would need to enter a data sharing relationship, according to Flock. Flock said that private businesses do not have access to law enforcement data.
Because the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has access to Flock device data at hundreds of Lowe’s and Home Depot stores according to the public records, this means that both Home Depot and Lowe’s have some sort of arrangement, or multiple arrangements, with police to share access to their data at scale. Flock said that security teams at companies will sometimes work with law enforcement agencies on a regional basis but did not provide specifics on what those collaborations look like.
See here and here for some background on Flock, which as those posts note also works with a lot of local governments. This is a long story, with a lot of eye-opening details, and I encourage you to read it all. You will need to sign up for a free subscription to 404 Media to do that, and I encourage you to do that as well. They’re best in class on AI, surveillance, ICE, general Internet nonsense, and more. Check it out.