1w ago

Millions in Public Funds, Zero Public Input: Flock's Surveillance System Might Already Be Overseeing Your Community

open.substack.com

11 comments

Need state and federal laws to prevent this bullshit ASAP. People passing through towns shouldn't be able to be subjected to enrollment in mass surveillance systems that can ship data across boundaries.
- Who do you think is using it?
  
  Cities and Municipal organizations.
After the presentation ended, the Mayor held a vote on a motion to enter into executive session, it passed, and the village board met privately until 8pm. That same night, during the village board of trustees meeting scheduled for 8pm, Mayor Arrest entertained a motion to amend the agenda and add a resolution to authorize the execution of the Flock contract, it passed 6-1. The entire process took 35 seconds total. Typically, voting on a motion without prior notice is reserved for urgent matters. Frankel told Drop Site, “Why was it so time sensitive? Why did it need to happen without proper notice all in one night? And I don't have a good answer for that.” The lack of answers aren’t for not trying, Frankel has, “corresponded with the mayor and the board and the village manager. Most of my questions, very specific questions, straightforward questions, most of them have gone unanswered,” he told Drop Site.
If the community inked the contract with Flock why wouldn't they put in the contract that it cannot be used for immigration or abortion or laws from other states? For a town of such high earners you would think they would have been smart enough to read the fine print.
- Probably because the people making the decisions were more concerned with something else. Maybe someone should check their bank accounts.
- Attorney Robert Berg, a Scarsdale resident, told Drop Site, “Chief DelBene is not qualified to determine that Flock’s services/products are so unique that Flock meets the standard of a sole source vendor under New York law and Scarsdale Village policy.” Berg has addressed the Village Board regarding the Flock contract adoption. Berg explained, in a statement to Drop Site, “four members of the Board, including the Mayor, are attorneys.” Berg was incredulous that four lawyers “would vote to approve an illegal no-bid, sole source contract with Flock, that plainly violates State law and the Village’s own formal policy, and to do so secretly when the company is already embroiled nationally in lawsuits and controversy over its violations of privacy laws.” He told Drop Site.
  Sounds like a few people in charge are getting kickbacks.

11 comments