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tothrowaway 12 hours ago [-]
> [Doppel] filed a trademark infringement complaint regarding his site, claiming to be working on Flock’s behalf. Doppel says that the site is using the trademark “FLOCK SAFETY” without authorization
Warning to anyone who receives these types of notices from Doppel. They are a defamation-as-a-service company. If the frivolous trademark notice doesn't work, they will follow it up with a letter to your host claiming that you're running a phishing website. If your host is lazy and paranoid (like OVH), they will block your IP immediately, and you'll have to deal with the fallout. Expect the letter to be sent on a Friday afternoon too.
walrus01 12 hours ago [-]
My biggest take away from this is that there's still a market niche for small, independent, feisty hosting companies that have some balls. For instance archive.is (which undoubtedly receives many legal threats) seems to be in a /24 IP block belonging to an Estonian hosting company in Talinn.
The bigger a hosting company gets the more likely it is to near fully automate its abuse process.
> If your host is lazy and paranoid (like OVH), they will block your IP immediately
I would guess that this is something like a process that, if it's even reviewed by a human at all, some grossly overworked, underqualified and underpaid person working in a call center type environment looks at it for 20 seconds in a massive abuse queue pile of tickets, and has a GUI button in front of them to mash which disables an account and all its services immediately.
Chris2048 12 hours ago [-]
> claiming that you're running a phishing website
Is this not defamation?
croes 12 hours ago [-]
> They are a defamation-as-a-service company.
segmondy 10 hours ago [-]
So why can't people do the same to Doppel? Back in the day folks use to take bad people offline, take down their sites, their phone lines, turn off their electricity. They are lucky these stupid kids hacking rubbish sites haven't found them yet and a will to fight what some might consider the good fight.
They are also lucky that folks are not fighting them in court and draining their wallets.
rglover 14 hours ago [-]
IMO, when they have to hide, that's the beginning of the end. Too many people are aware of the what/why now. And above all else, once the tables turn on elected officials and they realize they're under the same surveillance, I bet their tune will change (likely due to a public egg-on-face moment involving illegal or suspicious activity). If people keep the pressure on, this will be a "remember when" rather quickly.
Cider9986 14 hours ago [-]
Government officials should be highly transparent. Privacy for the people, transparency for the government.
dylan604 13 hours ago [-]
I'm waiting to find out that Flock systems do not log the data when the plates are recognized as gov't issued plates.
snypher 12 hours ago [-]
Flock+ is only $29/month and can remove up to three plates per subscription.
salawat 12 hours ago [-]
Nobody deletes anything. It'll all still be soft-deleted and they'll still have you present in the backups which will be what is ultimately searched by the unadvertised Flock++ members. Read: Governments.
tropicalhunter 12 hours ago [-]
Oh, I hate this so much
compel2160 12 hours ago [-]
And pass up blackmail - ahem lobbying opportunities?
speed_spread 12 hours ago [-]
Different logs for different business opportunities.
remusrm 13 hours ago [-]
[dead]
awesome_dude 13 hours ago [-]
There's a balance that needs to be struck, politicians are humans too
atmavatar 13 hours ago [-]
Politicians are humans who knowingly choose to enter public office for the sake of exercising power, whether for altruistic or nefarious reasons (or some combination thereof).
The power is why politicians deserve greater scrutiny than the average person, and anyone who wants to keep their privacy intact can choose not to run for office. The loss of privacy (usually at the hands of the press) is already an implied cost of running for and holding office.
Hnrobert42 13 hours ago [-]
But then you only elect politicians who don't care about privacy. I'm not sure those are the people I want crafting policy.
thot_experiment 13 hours ago [-]
Selection pressure sure, but obviously worth it. Public servants work for us and we should be able to see what they're up to.
awesome_dude 12 hours ago [-]
Is that how you want your employer to behave? You want them to surveil you all day every day in case you are doing something that is counter to their business?
nkrisc 12 hours ago [-]
How is that related?
awesome_dude 12 hours ago [-]
How is someone saying that public servants work for them different from that same person working for a private employer?????
thot_experiment 11 hours ago [-]
What? The public/private distinction? How is that confusing? It's literally in the name.
awesome_dude 11 hours ago [-]
They're employees just like you and me, complaining that they work for you then refusing to allow the same rule to be applied to yourself by your employer is....
thot_experiment 10 hours ago [-]
...normal and internally consistent because we do different jobs in different contexts and the impacts of oversight have a different cost/benefit analysis, do you think doctors should have the same oversight as your food delivery guy?
awesome_dude 9 hours ago [-]
No. Hypocrisy is when you refuse to have the same rules applied to yourself.
The claim was that they worked for you therefore they should be subject to constant surveillance. Submit to the same from your employer to prove that that is a reasonable expectation.
philipallstar 4 hours ago [-]
It would be hypocrisy if the person you're replying to was a public sector worker who didn't want to be open.
analog31 13 hours ago [-]
I think there's a balance that needs to be struck, in proportion to actual power. A senator or cabinet member deserves more scrutiny than a small town city clerk. Also, there are private individuals who knowingly exercise more power than that clerk.
everforward 13 hours ago [-]
I think you misunderstand the balance of power. If you're talking about power over you specifically, your local clerk almost certainly has more than your senator. If they both want to make your life suck, the clerk is the one with the relationship to the local PD, the ability to make your filings get lost in a pile for a couple days so they were technically filed late, etc. Your senator or representative is likely in 0 of the processes you are likely to engage in unless you're notable enough that you specifically get targeted by the state legislature.
> Also, there are private individuals who knowingly exercise more power than that clerk.
This is partially a pet peeve of mine, but again, almost certainly not. I struggle to think of someone with more ability to kill a project than a clerk that refuses to do their job.
Kim Davis was a clerk that refused a literal Supreme Court order. As best I can tell, she did 5 days in jail and launched a million dollar speaking career out of it. Bezos or Musk can be absolutely sidelined by a clerk who is pissed off enough to accept eventually getting fired as a result.
marcus_holmes 8 hours ago [-]
I generally agree, but want to point out that recently politicians have come under physical attack by supporters of their political enemies. In the USA there have been actual killings of politicians. Elsewhere there have been assaults.
If exposing their data leads them to be attacked more, then we need to be careful with this.
awesome_dude 13 hours ago [-]
You are making a political statement there, does that not make you a politician?
nkrisc 12 hours ago [-]
They are free to resign at any time.
black6 13 hours ago [-]
Not once they put themselves into the public sphere. They become chattel, bought and sold by special interests.
FireBeyond 14 hours ago [-]
Some of that is already happening, in DC of all places, where the DC Police Officer's Union is protesting against use of Flock by ... the DC Police (albeit Internal Affairs).
Something about "this technology is invasive and violates the right to privacy of our members"...
N_Lens 11 hours ago [-]
"People building the torment nexus never thought they'd also be the ones to get strapped into it."
bilekas 13 hours ago [-]
I am starting a surveillance company in the US. I'll sell the data to anyone who wants. I'll put cameras up wherever I like, call it protection of the people, the police will enjoy it doing a lot of work for them and then I'll point cameras squarely at my competition, 24 hours a day, 365 a year, until they ask for regulations.
If anyone would like to kickstart let me know.
ejj28 13 hours ago [-]
Y Combinator had no problem backing Flock, you should give them a try.
bilekas 13 hours ago [-]
Flock are competition, their investors would never like my idea.
fragmede 13 hours ago [-]
That's not how investors think. They don't want to bet on one pony winning the race. Instead they bet on the whole race, on the off chance that one of them turns into a rocketship to the moon.
bilekas 13 hours ago [-]
There's a clause in my company, once regulations around privacy that are al least comparable to the EU are enforced, we sell all assets and return money based on profits to share holders.
Then we start a new company creating just aggressive advertising patents so that they're not created by aggressive companies.
Edit : Hypothetical company, this is all satire.
walrus01 11 hours ago [-]
I do not follow in detail the individual companies that YC puts money into at early stages (there's so many of them), are there any examples of two companies YC invested in that serve basically the same purpose and market vertical where one was clearly the "winner", or both became successful and self sustaining?
If Flock wants to be used by public services, it should be subject to maximum transparency. If you don't want your camera locations public, don't offer them to the public for their use.
antonvs 12 hours ago [-]
It’s hilarious that the entire business model is based on aggregating information recorded in public, and now they’re objecting to having their information publicly recorded and aggregated.
Perhaps if they could explain why they don’t want that information to be available, they’ll understand how their victims feel.
AKSF_Ackermann 14 hours ago [-]
I would like to point out that the website in question has a button to download the entire dataset. Probably would be a good idea to save a copy.
JKCalhoun 14 hours ago [-]
I still want to see a driving game, perhaps using Google maps, where you try to get from point A to point B and not pass any Flock cameras.
pennomi 14 hours ago [-]
I’m working on an OpenStreetMap-powered map generator in Godot, this would probably be quite easy to build.
arwhatever 13 hours ago [-]
I'm guessing it might be less easy to physically drive, though.
I'm sure the wildly circuitous routes generated will be useful for rhetorical purposes though.
wpwpwpw 12 hours ago [-]
It would be cool too that a person could input it's most usual daily routes and know how many cameras will watch her.
nxobject 14 hours ago [-]
That would make for a “fun” (if depressing) Glider environmental hazard.
Could the map's creator be held liable if Flock can demonstrate this map in particular was used to destroy cameras?
dylan604 13 hours ago [-]
Can Google/Apple/et al be held liable if demonstrated that any criminal used maps in prep for any crime?
marcus_holmes 8 hours ago [-]
Could Milwaukee tools be held liable if Flock can demonstrate one of their cordless angle grinders was used to destroy cameras?
12 hours ago [-]
moate 14 hours ago [-]
Highly unlikely (but hey, anything's possible when you're flirting with an authoritarian regime). They would need to demonstrate that the map was made TO destroy cameras if to have real merit.
collabs 14 hours ago [-]
In my uninformed opinion that would be a dangerous precedent if there is no proven collusion or conspiracy to act together. I anal though so I'll wait for people who know the law to respond.
12 hours ago [-]
heliomattress 14 hours ago [-]
flock CEO's last name is "Langley" ? you can't make this stuff up.
protocolture 13 hours ago [-]
Jimmy CIA here to sell you a new security product.
annoyingnoob 13 hours ago [-]
Hey just like my car, when it is in public you can't expect privacy. The cameras cam track us in public but we can't track the cameras in public? Sorry if you take away my privacy then I'll take away yours too. Everything tracked, logged, and cataloged.
NoboruWataya 13 hours ago [-]
Interesting that the site is only available in the US. I wonder why that is.
smoovb 8 hours ago [-]
Blocked for some in US too.
adonovan 12 hours ago [-]
Flock: We’re supposed to be the surveilleurs, you see.
forshaper 14 hours ago [-]
Axon and Motorola must be pretty satisfied with all this.
paimapi 14 hours ago [-]
for what it's worth, the DeFlock maps also include Axon/Motorola cams. they pick up my city's custom implementation too so the anti-surveillance movement is really benefiting from this Flock-focused hate
forshaper 13 hours ago [-]
worth something! I wasn't aware that they picked those up.
Simulacra 12 hours ago [-]
It's public information. Courts have already ruled that if it's in public, you can photograph and document it. If anything, this will be a giant Streisand effect.
aussieguy1234 12 hours ago [-]
Could this map be seeded as a torrent? Not so easy to take down...
Might be a good one for the online archiving groups to grab a hold off just in case Flock succeeds in having it taken down
prvt 7 hours ago [-]
Privacy for me, not for thee.
ironqcold 12 hours ago [-]
[dead]
FridayoLeary 12 hours ago [-]
Sigh.
It's time Americans learnt a few facts about the rest of the world..
Pretty much every major road in the UK is covered in ANPR. Yes, the UK sucks in many ways, but ANPR is nowhere near as bad as the haters think it is.It's not the penultimate step towards authoratarianism.
bdcravens 12 hours ago [-]
The technology is only half of the puzzle; the other half is the availability of the data. For example, many toll roads use license plate readers. Police cruisers may also read a license plate.
Flock the technology would be less of a problem if it had reasonable guards around access, such as requiring search warrants for each query, in each jurisdiction the results touch.
bethekidyouwant 12 hours ago [-]
Here in America we think the UK took those steps long ago.
adolph 14 hours ago [-]
Clickbait. The website proprietor received a 3rd party trademark infringement complaint. If people in the company would prefer the map to be offline, they are taking a very roundabout way of accomplishing it.
On Thursday, Michael was notified that Doppel, which describes itself as an “AI-native social engineering defense platfom,” filed a trademark infringement complaint regarding his site, claiming to be working on Flock’s behalf. Doppel says that the site is using the trademark “FLOCK SAFETY” without authorization, which “may cause customer confusion / harm.” Doppel requested the site be taken down.
plorg 13 hours ago [-]
>they are taking a very roundabout way of accomplishing it
Doppel requested the site be taken down.
Actually that seems pretty direct.
adolph 13 hours ago [-]
The article says it's a trademark dispute. A cease and desist letter is a normal part of the process.
to11mtm 12 hours ago [-]
Using a 3rd party trademark enforcement company is an excellent way to minimize PR fallout for a company wanting to silence transparency around (or criticism of) a company.
Let's be real here; Would Doppel give any fucks about trying to do a trademark request if Flock wasn't paying them money?
I look forward to trying to understand your reasoning.
adolph 9 hours ago [-]
3rd party copyright enforcement goes out an spams anything they think will get their stats up. I doubt anyone would know about this site if the security researcher behind it wasn't able to make some press with "I got a trademark notice!" The claim is "Flock Wants ..." and the evidence is "someone got a trademark C&D."
moate 13 hours ago [-]
The fact that they can't go to the court and say "It pisses me off that this guy is doing what he's doing" and instead have to, ya know, try a case based on the actual laws that exist, seems to be confusing you about what "direct legal action" is.
adolph 13 hours ago [-]
The article's headline is the claim: "Flock Wants the Most Detailed Map of Its Surveillance Cameras Taken Offline"
The basis for this is an undisclosed trademark letter from a 3rd party. The company in question may or may not want the map taken down. However, the article offers scant evidence for the headline claim. That is why it is clickbait. It promises something large and delivers something minimal.
The security researcher in question has certainly made a splash however. Promising new levels of people mad at Flock is definitely the way to create some bona fides.
muwtyhg 13 hours ago [-]
Is it your opinion that the letter was likely not sent on behalf of Flock, and this Doppel company is lying about being affiliated with Flock?
If so, what do they stand to gain by doing this? Is it even possible for a company to file a trademark letter on behalf of trademark owner without being affiliated?
adolph 9 hours ago [-]
I have no opinion one way or another. My first guess is that they have an IP protection firm that goes out and protects their trademarks like any normal company. The action is content neutral in the sense that it doesn't matter if it is the official Flock fan club or hate club. Is it more likely that some evildoer at Flock is twisting their mustache saying "I know how to eliminate this map site—the Streisand Effect!"
The article makes a strong claim and then provides weak substance. An accurate headline is "Flock Map Website Sent a Trademark Notice."
muwtyhg 8 hours ago [-]
Let's assume that Flock wants to take the website down. How do you think they should go about doing it?
If the site does get taken down due to this trademark dispute and Flock has the deniability of "well it was just the company we hire to do trademark protection, it's not our fault, we didn't do this intentionally" didn't they achieve their aims with plausible deniability that you are affording them here?
ButlerianJihad 13 hours ago [-]
> "AI-native social engineering defense platfom"
Is that the description of the law firm? Because it sounds like how a law firm would self-describe. Let's get some founders of law firms to put this in their mission statements.
Furthermore, the EFF and Cory Doctorow could embrace this slogan. Especially the FSF. Richard M. Stallman would totally have adopted this description 35+ years ago.
adolph 9 hours ago [-]
>> "AI-native social engineering defense platfom"
> Is that the description of the law firm?
Did you read the article? That is a quote from the article, typo and all.
Warning to anyone who receives these types of notices from Doppel. They are a defamation-as-a-service company. If the frivolous trademark notice doesn't work, they will follow it up with a letter to your host claiming that you're running a phishing website. If your host is lazy and paranoid (like OVH), they will block your IP immediately, and you'll have to deal with the fallout. Expect the letter to be sent on a Friday afternoon too.
The bigger a hosting company gets the more likely it is to near fully automate its abuse process.
> If your host is lazy and paranoid (like OVH), they will block your IP immediately
I would guess that this is something like a process that, if it's even reviewed by a human at all, some grossly overworked, underqualified and underpaid person working in a call center type environment looks at it for 20 seconds in a massive abuse queue pile of tickets, and has a GUI button in front of them to mash which disables an account and all its services immediately.
Is this not defamation?
They are also lucky that folks are not fighting them in court and draining their wallets.
The power is why politicians deserve greater scrutiny than the average person, and anyone who wants to keep their privacy intact can choose not to run for office. The loss of privacy (usually at the hands of the press) is already an implied cost of running for and holding office.
The claim was that they worked for you therefore they should be subject to constant surveillance. Submit to the same from your employer to prove that that is a reasonable expectation.
> Also, there are private individuals who knowingly exercise more power than that clerk.
This is partially a pet peeve of mine, but again, almost certainly not. I struggle to think of someone with more ability to kill a project than a clerk that refuses to do their job.
Kim Davis was a clerk that refused a literal Supreme Court order. As best I can tell, she did 5 days in jail and launched a million dollar speaking career out of it. Bezos or Musk can be absolutely sidelined by a clerk who is pissed off enough to accept eventually getting fired as a result.
If exposing their data leads them to be attacked more, then we need to be careful with this.
Something about "this technology is invasive and violates the right to privacy of our members"...
If anyone would like to kickstart let me know.
Then we start a new company creating just aggressive advertising patents so that they're not created by aggressive companies.
Edit : Hypothetical company, this is all satire.
https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/industry/data-visualiz...
Perhaps if they could explain why they don’t want that information to be available, they’ll understand how their victims feel.
I'm sure the wildly circuitous routes generated will be useful for rhetorical purposes though.
https://overpass-turbo.eu/
It's time Americans learnt a few facts about the rest of the world..
Pretty much every major road in the UK is covered in ANPR. Yes, the UK sucks in many ways, but ANPR is nowhere near as bad as the haters think it is.It's not the penultimate step towards authoratarianism.
Flock the technology would be less of a problem if it had reasonable guards around access, such as requiring search warrants for each query, in each jurisdiction the results touch.
Let's be real here; Would Doppel give any fucks about trying to do a trademark request if Flock wasn't paying them money?
I look forward to trying to understand your reasoning.
The basis for this is an undisclosed trademark letter from a 3rd party. The company in question may or may not want the map taken down. However, the article offers scant evidence for the headline claim. That is why it is clickbait. It promises something large and delivers something minimal.
The security researcher in question has certainly made a splash however. Promising new levels of people mad at Flock is definitely the way to create some bona fides.
If so, what do they stand to gain by doing this? Is it even possible for a company to file a trademark letter on behalf of trademark owner without being affiliated?
The article makes a strong claim and then provides weak substance. An accurate headline is "Flock Map Website Sent a Trademark Notice."
If the site does get taken down due to this trademark dispute and Flock has the deniability of "well it was just the company we hire to do trademark protection, it's not our fault, we didn't do this intentionally" didn't they achieve their aims with plausible deniability that you are affording them here?
Is that the description of the law firm? Because it sounds like how a law firm would self-describe. Let's get some founders of law firms to put this in their mission statements.
Furthermore, the EFF and Cory Doctorow could embrace this slogan. Especially the FSF. Richard M. Stallman would totally have adopted this description 35+ years ago.
> Is that the description of the law firm?
Did you read the article? That is a quote from the article, typo and all.