This week (August 16-22) is National Week of Action Against ALPRs (Automated License Plate Reader) cameras – most prominently those of Flock “Safety”, which reportedly supplies over 80% of the thousands of these cameras deployed in public in the United States. Including many here in San Francisco. These cameras may capture video, use AI, and swivel to track individual movement, as well as taking pictures of license plates – see Flock’s Aggressive Expansions Go Far Beyond Simple Driver Surveillance | American Civil Liberties Union.
The good news is that opposition to this growing mass surveillance has also been growing rapidly, both nationally and locally. Nationally the sites NoALPRS.com and DeFlock.org are good resources. Locally, DeFlockSF.org and BAMS.Network/Events are publicizing events.
This evening there is a free teach-in happening at 6pm at 209 Golden Gate Avenue, however organizers claim 186 people have registered and the space reportedly only holds 100, so you may or may not be able to get in.
Afterward however at there will be a rally at 7pm outside the nearby Federal Building at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, which contains the SF Fusion Center on its 14th floor. Fusion Centers are where they process and analyze mass surveillance data from these cameras – there are reportedly at least 5 in California, including in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Ana, as well as here in SF.
On Friday (Aug. 21), there will be a singing march (songs provided!) in Berkeley, starting at 4th and Virginia streets at 530pm and walking to Strawberry Creek Park for a party there from 630 to 8pm.
Let us know if you plan to attend either event, maybe we can meet up. Or get in touch after and report on your experience, or if you’d like to be involved in more activism around this issue, such as taking direct action against cameras.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Chair, Libertarian Party of San Francisco
(415) 573-7997