• NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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    12 hours ago

    The same thing is happening/has already happened in China, the government there can find you and black bag you anywhere at any time. Ask Naomi Wu.

    Russia basically is this already.

    Europe is also trying to go there with the repeated attempts to pass chat control and age restrictions on internet access.

    In the US, capitalism is the tool the authoritarians are using to accomplish their goals, and it is absolutely enabling the spread of the surveillance state. Capitalism itself is not the motivation for the surveillance state, it’s just being used by the authoritarians. If we’re going to put a stop to this kind of behavior, we have to get the targets right. Flock and the other companies like them are a symptom of the larger problem.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      Ask Naomi Wu.

      To my knowledge, Naomi Wu was never “black bagged”. She’s still selling stuff on cybernightmarket. She’s just done posting politics.

      But to compare the grief Wu got (and, from what I read forever ago, it was as much other terminally online types screaming at her as any state intervention) with Leqaa Kordia or Mahmoud Khalil both of whom absolutely were “black bagged” in the literal sense? Wu was not indefinitely detained in a prison camp or threatened with torture unless she “voluntarily self-deported”, at least as far as I could find.

      Russia basically is this already.

      Russia is so much more, as they’ve weaponized their prison population into military conscripts.

      Really not looking forward to the day I’m arrested by an ICE agent who is, himself, wearing a bomb collar.

      Capitalism itself is not the motivation for the surveillance state

      The surveillance state is a vital tool of private industry when executives fear a proletariat insurrection. It is a necessary precondition to prevent insurrection.

      • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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        6 hours ago

        …including, like, the custodian?

        You’re not going to win over undecided people by advocating for unreasonable, indiscriminate violence, you’re just going to give the opposition ammunition for calling you an extremist.

        It would be far more productive to support groups like the EFF and ACLU in lobbying for legislation to prevent such abusive technology. Also get involved in your local town/county politics to advocate against the installation of such things. The absolute last thing the sick fuckers running companies like Flock want is for people to organize against them. Don’t push people away, encourage them to join.

        • PRIMEcavitationfetishist@quokk.au
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          6 hours ago

          Sorry I’m not interested in your equivocating bullshit.

          Who’s still undecided on clock? Who doesn’t burn with hare for anyone who’d install one of these? Fucking your Nazi coddling bullshit. Guilty is guilty.

          lobbying for legislation to stop

          The thing the local government in question already told them to stop. They will continue or they will be killed. Or I guess like a carrington event or something, but barring that they will continue or they will be kille

          Cut it with your divisive fetishism of systems that have already proven useless for keeping us sage, and caused the problem in the first place. Pick a side.

          • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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            53 minutes ago

            Cut it with your divisive fetishism

            Pick a side.

            Right… I’m the one being divisive, by saying that we should organize and work together. Hilarious.

            systems that have already proven useless

            The thing doing the most damage to Flock right now is the negative public opinion pushing counties and townships to cancel contracts. Those “useless” systems are actively responding to the demands of their citizens, and Flock cameras are being removed in many jurisdictions. The way you hurt a capitalist enterprise is to take away its money (loss of contracts).

            So, how about you “pick a side” and join in with the effort that is actually producing results?

            https://www.npr.org/2026/02/17/nx-s1-5612825/flock-contracts-canceled-immigration-survillance-concerns

            https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/09/flock-cameras-backlash-cancellations-01026242

            https://banflockcameras.com/tracker/

            Take Action

            We don’t have to accept this future. You can:

            Stay informed about local meetings: ALPR.watch provides a calendar and map of upcoming public meetings with agenda items related to Flock and other surveillance systems. You can sign up for email alerts when meetings near you are scheduled.
            Contact your local officials and demand transparency and oversight of surveillance programs. (See 5 Calls)
            Support organizations like the ACLU and the EFF who challenge mass surveillance in the courts and legislatures.
            Start conversations with neighbors and community groups about the risks of systems like Flock.
            Share this website and make your community aware.

            https://www.stopflock.com/