Group Collects Signatures To Ban Flock Cameras In Huntington

Members of the Huntington branch of the statewide Citizen Action Group (Huntington CAG) began collecting signatures Wednesday for a ballot initiative against AI powered camera systems like Flock cameras used for license plate readers, gunshot detectors and other features.

On July 13, the Huntington City Council approved a contract to install cameras around the city. It was promoted as a deterrent to crime.   

There are questions about whether the systems violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Matthew Lebo, the democracy organizer for Huntington CAG said one of his biggest concerns is how the city’s information is to be used.

“Huntington includes a provision in our new Flock contract saying that Flock, a private company, has the right to use our private mass surveillance data for their own internal business purposes, a term that’s not defined,” he said.  

Lebo said there have been dozens of documented instances across the country of police officers using mass surveillance data to stalk their romantic partners. 

“There is an incident in Dunwoody, Georgia, where someone uncovered by FOIA request that Flock was taking secret footage from children’s gymnasiums and community centers and public parks and pools and showing footage of unattended children to prospective buyers to make a sale,” he said. 

Lebo said the group collected 100 signatures Wednesday but expects to need around 4,000 to get the city to call a special election. He expected to reach that level in about a month and said the city has up to a year to call a special election from the time the names on the petition are certified. That places the election sometime in 2027.  

“It’s so important that we as a community come together first to protect ourselves from the abuse of mass surveillance and to prove to our city government that our needs and our voices as a community are not an optional part of the political process,” he said.  

After 10 hours of discussion at the July 13 city council meeting, where only one person spoke in favor of the Flock camera contract, the city voted 6 to 4 to approve it.  

A spokesperson for the city of Huntington declined to comment on the initiative.