A large group of online creators has launched a campaign against two popular hardware chains. Fifty-six content creators with millions of followers are demanding that the retailers cancel their contracts with Flock Safety. The digital personalities argue that parking-lot cameras could put everyday shoppers and workers at risk.
A group of 56 public figures, content creators and internet personalities, representing a collective audience of more than 46 million followers, has written a letter demanding that Lowe's and Home Depot terminate their partnerships with Flock Safety.
The signatories explain that their livelihoods depend on making 'DIY and home improvement content' that requires frequent trips to Lowe's or Home Depot for materials. This group includes figures such as TikTok comedian Spencer Earl and former NASA engineer Susan Martinez.
Some followers have also said online that they have stopped shopping at the hardware stores over the issue.
The creators insist they cannot 'in good conscience' urge their audience to shop at Lowe's or Home Depot 'until you drop ties with harmful surveillance vendors.'
Creators Warn Flock Data Could Put Shoppers at Risk
The group's central argument is that Home Depot and Lowe's welcome thousands of people every day across the country, providing Flock with a huge amount of data that could potentially be exploited by government agencies.
The campaign points to Flock's previous federal pilot programmes and documented cases in which immigration-related searches were conducted through local law enforcement access to Flock data. Flock says it does not have a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that ICE does not have direct access to Flock cameras or customer data.
Addressed directly to Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison and Home Depot CEO Ted Decker, the letter claims Flock's network has been used to aid immigration agents in tracking, raiding and detaining people.
@peterispeter Flock, Axon, and any other private surveillance company needs to go #deflock #fightforthefuture #surveillancestate #lowes #flockcameras
♬ original sound - Discount Soldier Boy
'As some of the largest commercial customers of Flock Safety, Lowe's Home Improvement and Home Depot cannot continue to put customers in danger with this contract,' the letter adds.
The message also accuses the retailers of profiting from immigrant day labourers while sharing their data with what the campaign describes as 'hostile organisations that want to cause them harm.'
Flock Safety Faces Growing Backlash Over Surveillance
Resentment towards Flock Safety—the private, for-profit company behind licence plate readers and other surveillance technology—has spread nationwide.
Public frustration with Flock has been fuelled by allegations that law-enforcement personnel have misused the network. A prominent example involves an Albany senior investigator who was accused of using the Flock network 3,000 times to track her former partner. Some members of the public have also been accused of dismantling Flock cameras or setting them on fire.
Flock camera vandalism has become such a widespread issue that police deployed a 3D-printed decoy camera as bait, leading to the arrest of a man who was charged with three felonies. While some people have resorted to damaging the equipment, others have opted for peaceful forms of protest.
One Florida resident protested Flock by holding up signs in front of the cameras, while another used a 3D printer to block the cameras without damaging them. Yet this has done little to quell opposition to Flock surveillance, with online users calling for a Halloween-night 'sweep' targeting the equipment.
A tattoo artist in Michigan floated a joke about handing out free ink for every camera smashed, which some people ended up taking quite literally.
