The growing vigilante movement to knock out Flock surveillance cameras
The growing vigilante movement to knock out Flock surveillance cameras
针对 Flock 监控摄像头的民间“义警”破坏运动日益增长
Inside the growing vigilante movement to knock out Flock surveillance cameras. An underground network of privacy activists is disabling or destroying the ubiquitous surveillance devices sprouting up across the US. 随着针对 Flock 监控摄像头的民间“义警”破坏运动日益增长，一个由隐私活动人士组成的地下网络正在禁用或摧毁这些在美国各地如雨后春笋般涌现的无处不在的监控设备。
The first time that “NoMark” tried to knock out a Flock camera feed, he waited an hour for the perfect moment – pacing in and out of bushes that towered over him, a few feet behind a pole holding up the device. “I was just so nervous,” he said. “NoMark”第一次尝试切断 Flock 摄像头的信号时，他等待了一个小时以寻找最佳时机——他在高过头顶的灌木丛中来回踱步，躲在支撑设备的电线杆后几英尺处。“我当时紧张极了，”他说。
NoMark, as he’s known on Instagram, had already gained an online following of hundreds of thousands for posting videos of himself wearing a black mask and taking on small-time vigilante missions: breaking up fights outside a bar and breaking into a refinery he believed was “polluting the city real bad”. The Minnesota Star Tribune dubbed him “Minneapolis’ Batman”. He spoke to the Guardian under condition of anonymity to discuss potentially illegal acts. NoMark（他在 Instagram 上的化名）因发布自己戴着黑色面具执行小型“义警”任务的视频而获得了数十万粉丝：包括在酒吧外劝架，以及闯入他认为“严重污染城市”的炼油厂。明尼苏达州的《明星论坛报》称他为“明尼阿波利斯版的蝙蝠侠”。为了讨论这些潜在的非法行为，他以匿名方式接受了《卫报》的采访。
On this June night, he set his sights on a new target: automated license plate readers (ALPRs) made by the US company Flock Safety. 在六月的那个夜晚，他瞄准了一个新目标：美国 Flock Safety 公司生产的自动车牌识别系统（ALPR）。
These black cameras, which are hooked up to a rectangular solar panel and typically mounted on a pole, snap photos of passing vehicles and run the pictures against large databases. They have sparked nationwide backlash from pro-privacy critics, who point to public records suggesting that these devices can help law enforcement keep tabs on specific license plates and the people driving these cars. That they can sweep in so many people’s location from an innocent act in a public space – regardless of whether the target is a suspect in a crime, and without a warrant – has led to fears of mass surveillance. 这些黑色摄像头通常连接着一块矩形太阳能电池板，安装在电线杆上，它们会拍摄过往车辆的照片并将其与大型数据库进行比对。这些设备引发了隐私保护倡导者的全国性抵制，他们指出公共记录显示，这些设备可以帮助执法部门追踪特定车牌及驾驶者。无论目标是否为犯罪嫌疑人，也无需搜查令，这些设备就能在公共场所捕捉到大量无辜民众的行踪，这引发了人们对大规模监控的担忧。
Flock, based in Georgia and valued at $8.4bn, says its cameras scan license plates billions of times each month in about 6,000 communities in nearly every state in the US. The company said in a February blogpost that its ALPRs are “not mass surveillance tools” and that it “cannot track vehicles, much less individual people”. 总部位于佐治亚州、估值 84 亿美元的 Flock 公司表示，其摄像头每月在美国几乎每个州的约 6,000 个社区中扫描数十亿次车牌。该公司在二月份的一篇博客文章中称，其 ALPR 系统“并非大规模监控工具”，并且“无法追踪车辆，更不用说追踪个人了”。
Across the street from a Taco Bell, NoMark couldn’t stop thinking about whether he would get caught, and the adrenaline felt paralyzing – even though this felt “on brand” for his online persona, which has won him more than 700,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. After a few minutes of not spotting any cars on the road, he climbed a few feet up the pole, taped up the camera to block its lens and snipped the wires that powered the whole operation. Then he ended his phone’s recording and fled. 在一家塔可钟（Taco Bell）餐厅对面，NoMark 不禁担心自己是否会被抓，肾上腺素带来的刺激感让他几乎瘫痪——尽管这非常符合他在线上的人设，而这一人设已为他在 Instagram 和 TikTok 上赢得了超过 70 万粉丝。在确认路上几分钟内没有车辆经过后，他爬上电线杆，用胶带封住镜头，并剪断了供电电线。随后，他停止了手机录像并迅速逃离。
Nowadays, NoMark is much calmer on these excursions, and it only takes him a few minutes to get the job done after having taken down more than a dozen cameras, he says. But he still assumes the police are looking for him. Even if he does get arrested, he’s hopeful the charges won’t be too severe – and more important, he “just wants to send a message”. NoMark 说，如今他在执行这些任务时冷静多了，在拆除了十几台摄像头后，他只需几分钟就能完成工作。但他仍然认为警察正在搜捕他。即使真的被捕，他也希望指控不会太严重——更重要的是，他“只是想传达一个信息”。
“I’m not afraid to do things if I think they’re right,” he says. “These things are coming up so fast across the country that this is kind of the only way to combat them.” “如果我认为事情是正确的，我就不怕去做，”他说。“这些设备在全国范围内出现得太快了，这几乎是反抗它们的唯一途径。”
The Minneapolis camera destroyer is not alone. As anger grows towards law enforcement contracts with Flock, vigilantes across the country are taking matters into their own hands by smashing, obstructing or taking down these cameras. Many are leaning into their creative side: “paint bombing” the devices, planting American flags at the scene after damaging them, 3D printing objects to help obstruct the camera’s view and leaving colorful messages like “hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks”. Some influencers are even creating fake cease-and-desist letters from Flock, capitalizing on the company’s negative public perception. 这位明尼阿波利斯的摄像头破坏者并不孤单。随着人们对执法部门与 Flock 签订合同的愤怒加剧，全国各地的“义警”们开始通过砸毁、遮挡或拆除这些摄像头来采取行动。许多人发挥了创意：用油漆弹袭击设备、在破坏现场插上美国国旗、利用 3D 打印物体遮挡镜头，并留下诸如“哈哈哈，你们这些搞监控的混蛋完蛋了”之类的标语。一些网红甚至伪造了来自 Flock 的停终函，利用公众对该公司的负面印象进行炒作。
The Guardian has identified at least 33 instances of people damaging, vandalizing and destroying Flock cameras, across 23 states, that appear to have the explicit message of protesting surveillance. 《卫报》已确认在 23 个州发生了至少 33 起破坏、损毁 Flock 摄像头的事件，这些行为似乎都有明确的抗议监控的意图。
Flock, along with police departments across the US, say these cameras are integral for public safety, and capture vehicle details that can help in investigations, such as license plate numbers and the make and model of vehicles. Flock’s website also advertises how these cameras can “stop crime in real time” by alerting officers “the moment a suspect car passes by” – suggesting that cops can act quickly on these leads to pursue a target. The company’s CEO, Garrett Langley, has described some pro-privacy critics as wanting to “normalize lawlessness” and “weaken public safety”. Flock 和美国各地的警察局表示，这些摄像头对公共安全至关重要，能够捕捉有助于调查的车辆细节，如车牌号码以及车辆的品牌和型号。Flock 的网站还宣传这些摄像头如何通过在“嫌疑车辆经过时”立即提醒警察来“实时阻止犯罪”——暗示警察可以根据这些线索迅速采取行动追捕目标。该公司首席执行官 Garrett Langley 曾形容一些隐私保护批评者是在试图“使无法无天常态化”并“削弱公共安全”。
NoMark has not been caught in his campaign against Flock cameras. Others are facing charges. Jeffrey Sovern in Suffolk, Virginia, has been charged with destruction of property for allegedly damaging more than a dozen Flock cameras. Sovern has not admitted to the act but did tell police that he finds these cameras to be unconstitutional. NoMark 在针对 Flock 摄像头的行动中尚未被捕。其他人则面临指控。弗吉尼亚州萨福克市的 Jeffrey Sovern 因涉嫌损坏十几台 Flock 摄像头而被控破坏财产罪。Sovern 并未承认这一行为，但他告诉警方，他认为这些摄像头违宪。
He wrote on a GoFundMe created to pay for legal expenses: “I will take the silver lining that this can be a catalyst in a bigger movement to roll back intrusive监控.” 他在为支付法律费用而创建的 GoFundMe 页面上写道：“我会从中看到一线希望，那就是这可以成为一场更大规模运动的催化剂，以抵制侵入式监控。”
A handful of other cases have drawn criminal charges, too. In New Mexico, Jevon Martinez was arrested after allegedly destroying 13 Flock cameras. 还有少数其他案件也引发了刑事指控。在新墨西哥州，Jevon Martinez 因涉嫌摧毁 13 台 Flock 摄像头而被捕。