Love this idea. If it’s visible or audible in public,it’s legal to record. It’s a fine line against stalking, so maybe do it with a few hundred of your friends.

Even privatebjets emit a transponder signal. I wonder how hard it would be to sniff this out of the air. Maybe some of our HAM friends would know.

Of course, obligatory IANAL.

I’ve read that the last time any consumer privacy laws were enacted at the federal level, it was in the 1980s when a video store clerk sold a politician’s embarrassing video rental history to a newspaper.

I’m wondering if any politician who drives a car past one of these things has gone anywhere that they’d not like the public to know about.

IANAL and you should do your own research, but my understanding of the dangers of something like a Flock camera is that it’s a private company who surveils citizens and compiles the data into something that law enforcement can purchase without a warrant, effectively circumventing Americans’ 4th amendment rights. In this case, it’s a city device that can host a camera. I believe that the city would not be able to perform warrantless mass surveilence using these devices the same way that a private company can. I believe it’s similar to those cameras on traffic signals that monitor the performance of the intersection but not perform ALPR data collection. It’s a subtle but important difference.

I may have no idea what I’m talking about also, so if you are an authority on these matters or someone with industry knowledge, please correct me.

Consumer reports recently added a privacy rating to their car ratings. I glanced at it a little last year. I think it rated if you could opt out and the reach of the sharing.

I do have to say that I’m generally disappointed with the discussion on this topic every tine it comes up. The majority of responses go contrast to the question. “Don’t buy a car” or “fix up a junker” are generally not helpful if you’ve already decided that your top priority is to have a newer car. Another thread actually recommended to move to another country where you could walk everywhere. Seriously.

Most often a car purchase is a complex decision making process where you need to weigh multiple, often conflicting priorities where privacy is only one aspect. I get the impression that if people followed the advice of the majority of these comments, they’d be living in a tent off grid, hunting for food to stay alive, but living their privacy dream.