No, Flock isn’t threatening people for debating surveillance
No, Flock isn’t threatening people for debating surveillance
不，Flock 并没有威胁讨论监控技术的人们
Photos of purported cease and desist letters from the company have gone viral, but Flock says it didn’t send them. 网上流传着据称来自该公司（Flock Safety）的停终信函照片，但 Flock 表示这些信件并非由他们发出。
On Thursday, the Instagram account for a lecture series in Newport Beach, CA posted a photo of what appeared to be a cease and desist letter from the surveillance technology company Flock Safety. Flock has received significant backlash over its technology and work with law enforcement agencies, and this letter kicked off yet another wave of criticism against the company for allegedly trying to shut down discussions of its work. 周四，加利福尼亚州纽波特比奇市一个系列讲座的 Instagram 账号发布了一张照片，内容看起来是一封来自监控技术公司 Flock Safety 的停终信函。Flock 因其技术及与执法机构的合作而遭到强烈抵制，而这封信引发了新一轮针对该公司的批评，指责其试图压制有关其业务的讨论。
“WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED,” the group, The Saturday Salon, wrote in the Instagram post, which has more than 3,000 likes. A separate post about the letter on Bluesky has more than 360 reposts. The text of the letter demands that the group stop hosting conversations about Flock’s surveillance technology. In a DM from The Saturday Salon’s Instagram account, Schuyler Lifschultz tells The Verge that it “found this letter taped to our front door.” “我们不会被噤声，”该组织“周六沙龙”（The Saturday Salon）在 Instagram 帖文中写道，该帖文获得了超过 3,000 个赞。Bluesky 上关于这封信的另一篇帖子也有超过 360 次转发。信中要求该组织停止举办关于 Flock 监控技术的讨论。在“周六沙龙”Instagram 账号的私信中，Schuyler Lifschultz 告诉《The Verge》：“我们发现这封信被贴在了我们的前门上。”
But Flock denies that it sent the letter, with chief strategy officer Rahul Sidhu citing it as an example of a mass disinformation campaign against Flock. “Flock never sent this letter, these people made it up (with a forged signature) to try to manipulate people,” Sidhu says. “We are pro-democracy. People SHOULD have discussions and lectures like this.” 但 Flock 否认发送了这封信，其首席战略官 Rahul Sidhu 将其视为针对 Flock 的大规模虚假信息运动的一个例子。“Flock 从未发送过这封信，这些人编造了它（并伪造了签名）以试图操纵公众，”Sidhu 说。“我们支持民主。人们理应进行这样的讨论和讲座。”
In a statement to The Verge, Flock’s chief legal officer, Dan Haley, says that Flock is aware of “at least two forged” letters and that “these letters did not come from me or from anyone at Flock.” Here is Haley’s full statement: 在给《The Verge》的一份声明中，Flock 的首席法务官 Dan Haley 表示，Flock 已经注意到“至少两封伪造的”信件，并强调“这些信件并非来自我本人或 Flock 的任何员工”。以下是 Haley 的完整声明：
We’re aware of at least two forged letters circulating on the internet, including this one, that purport to be cease-and-desist letters from our legal department. To be clear: these letters did not come from me or from anyone at Flock. 我们注意到互联网上流传着至少两封伪造的信件，包括这一封，它们声称是来自我们法务部门的停终信函。需要明确的是：这些信件并非来自我本人或 Flock 的任何员工。
Flock welcomes and encourages public debate about our technology. We have not and would not seek to discourage, prevent, or prohibit such discussion and debate. In fact, we would be happy to participate in any such discussions the group in question might host in the future. Flock 欢迎并鼓励公众对我们的技术进行辩论。我们过去没有、将来也不会试图阻碍、阻止或禁止此类讨论和辩论。事实上，如果相关组织未来举办此类讨论，我们很乐意参与其中。
Looking closely at the photo of the letter in The Saturday Salon’s post reveals some dodgy details. Haley’s title in the letter is “Head of Legal Affairs Division,” but his actual title is chief legal officer. The Verge also emailed Haley’s purported email address on the letter but received a bounceback. 仔细观察“周六沙龙”帖文中的信件照片，会发现一些可疑的细节。信中 Haley 的头衔是“法律事务部主管”，但他实际的头衔是首席法务官。《The Verge》还向信中注明的 Haley 的所谓电子邮箱发送了邮件，但收到了退信。
Lifschultz tells The Verge that The Saturday Salon would “love to have somebody from Flock come in and tell their views and give a lecture. We are politically neutral and not a business.” Lifschultz 告诉《The Verge》，“周六沙龙”非常“欢迎 Flock 的人来分享他们的观点并进行讲座。我们在政治上是中立的，也不是商业机构。”
One of the other apparently forged letters Flock is aware of was shared in an Instagram post from musician Noah Orion. On his website, Orion has a shop listing for “Fuck Flock” stickers, and the cease and desist letter in the photo says that Orion has engaged in conduct “involving the unauthorized dissemination” of visual materials in a way that encourages Orion’s fans to “claim and place stickers that constitute a rude and unusual manner towards our company and association.” Flock 注意到的另一封显然是伪造的信件，出现在音乐人 Noah Orion 的 Instagram 帖文中。在他的网站上，Orion 有一个销售“Fuck Flock”贴纸的商店页面，照片中的停终信称 Orion 从事了“涉及未经授权传播”视觉材料的行为，这种方式鼓励 Orion 的粉丝“索取并张贴贴纸，这构成了对我们公司和协会粗鲁且不寻常的行为。”
This letter also has some unusual characteristics, such as identifying the company as Flock Cameras and Flock incorporated [sic]. The letter in the photo says that failure to comply with the purported cease and desist “may result in Flock Group inc. [sic] to persecute you”, which is both an awkwardly worded phrase and incorrectly uses “persecute” instead of “prosecute.” Orion didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. 这封信也有一些不同寻常的特征，例如将公司名称写为“Flock Cameras”和“Flock incorporated”（原文如此）。照片中的信件称，如果不遵守该停终要求，“可能会导致 Flock Group inc.（原文如此）对你进行迫害（persecute）”，这句话不仅措辞笨拙，而且错误地使用了“persecute”（迫害）一词，而不是“prosecute”（起诉）。Orion 没有立即回复置评请求。