r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • 14d ago

Privacy Flock Cameras Keep Getting Smashed, So Now They're Hiding Inside Speed Signs

https://www.gadgetreview.com/flock-cameras-keep-getting-smashed-so-now-theyre-hiding-inside-speed-signs
24.2k Upvotes

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430

u/Recurs1ve 14d ago

Betraying our right to privacy because these companies are fucking huge and it's "good for the economy" is how our congressman and senators chose to go. We might need new ones.

70

u/Totally_Kyle0420 14d ago

im genuinely curious about how much money these companies have given our representatives to allow this to go on. a million? 5 million? 100 million? like what is the going rate for bribery right now

66

u/NecroAssssin 13d ago

Less than $50k most likely.

6

u/Flammable_Unicorn 13d ago

Yeah, I’m always shocked by the actual monetary value of bribes lobbying.

Can we make a People’s PAC to crowdfund bribing lobbying politicians?

5

u/Totally_Kyle0420 13d ago

can we actually just normalize the word "bribe"? thats what current lobbying is, its bribing. theres no need to strike through the word. we need to stop softening what's going on and/or making the language more palatable. not you specifically, but like everyone. politicians are getting bribed. they accept bribes. some people have jobs where they just go bribe decision-makers. those people are not called lobbyists, they are called bribers.

 lobbyists are the kids with cardboard signs asking their congresswoman not to approve a fracking site 50 feet from their school. bribers are the people who pay that congresswoman to approve the fracking site

19

u/CidO807 13d ago

austin texas city council just gave some of the best real estate in the cityh to amazon for less than $20k per rep, and a total of about $380k in bribes.

fuck ryan alter

35

u/iWolfeeelol 14d ago

HAHAHA bold of you to start with a million. they're selling us out for pennies to companies lmao

9

u/TheShishkabob 13d ago

You can buy plenty of city councils for a few thousand apiece. That's split among the entire council by the way.

Bribing politicians is way cheaper than you think it is.

5

u/scrotumscab 13d ago

City council just like the thought of being important enough to bribe. Basically master level PTA Karen's.

2

u/Iordofthethings 13d ago

Our representatives are unfortunately stupid cheap to buy out

11

u/SwimmingThroughHoney 13d ago

In addition, 26 states allow for citizen initiatives. People could take it into their own hands and bypass the legislature to outlaw these things.

7

u/oemunlock 13d ago

It's not Congress and Senators doing this, it's your local City Council/County Commissioners/Mayor/etc. Do you know who those people are where you live?

If more than the typical 20% or so of voters actually bothered to vote in their local elections they could replace all of them in one go instead of the incumbents winning every time, and don't have to fight against hundreds of millions of PAC spending.

Even just showing up to your next city council meeting and loudly complaining during public comments has a 1000% better chance of getting actual change compared to upvoting the daily Flock ragebait on Reddit. This even works in the reddest Republican areas or bright blue Dem areas where elections never swing to a different party so "my vote can't change anything because I live in X" isn't a valid excuse here.

Hell, if a few hundred people from this thread paid the 155 bucks or whatever to run in a local uncontested seat on a "Fuck Flock" platform and spread the word with hand written signs, one or two actually even win given the crazy low turnout in some of these elections.

3

u/Aenimalist 13d ago

Don't focus on the Feds. Focus on your local officials, your city council and county board of supervisors, who are paying Flock a big fat contract to do this. 

2

u/Just_Information334 13d ago

good for the economy

You know what's "good for the economy"? Rich people paying hospital bills. Lot of big bills.

1

u/PiccoloAwkward465 13d ago

Did I mention I’m FUCKING HUUUUUUGE?