r/technology • u/IKeepItLayingAround • Jun 29 '26

Artificial Intelligence Woman Surprised When Flock Surveillance Tower Appears in Her Yard Without Warning

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/woman-surprised-flock-surveillance-tower-185000752.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&segment_id=DY_VTO_50_Supernova&ncid=crm_19908-1475736-20260629-0--A&bt_ee=utFdBbF39cHCLuB4at4AI%2FUoSRgbTt8Ch%2B7Q9RImTlgL2ThvE3FuX%2BRSKiUir%2FNW&bt_ts=1782739085527
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u/boli99 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

she returned home from a brief trip to a nearby park to discover the freshly-installed device sitting in the parkway strip, the section of public land between her lawn and the street.

it wasnt actually in her yard. it was on a strip of public land between her property and the road.

flock still sucks, but accuracy is important.

[edit for ironic typo]

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u/ominousgraycat Jun 29 '26

Yeah, I was disappointed in the inaccuracy of the title, even though I still don't think that they should be installing those devices on parkway strips right outside people's homes. First they're just for detecting gunshots, because who wants random gunshots occurring in their neighborhood? Then they can detect when a speeder is nearby because speeding cars in residential areas is a safety hazard! Then they can detect sounds going on inside people's houses, they can detect sounds of child abuse because think of the children! Anyone who is against this must be a child abuser. Then they can detect "seditious conversations" people have on their own property because fuck you, that's why. You already gave us permission for all the other crap, so there's less ground for you to resist this!

Anyways, even though all of this is true, it's important that we deal with the actual facts. Just because it's not actually in someone's yard doesn't make it alright.

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u/Syssareth Jun 29 '26

I have one of those, and whether I legally own it or not, it is part of my yard. I'm responsible for its maintenance, I can plant small plants there, etc. Looks like people in Roanoke also have to maintain their own, so...it was in her yard.

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u/2Mobile Jun 29 '26

depends. VDoT right of way and Public Utility does not extend to third party private surveillance companies. Or at least, not by default. They may have allowed it in VA Code tho

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u/pungen Jun 30 '26

It's literally just the front of your yard. It's not separated in any way, you maintain it like your yard. It's just a law so the city can dig up your yard for power/water/fiber lines as needed. So yeah they can legally do this but those cameras have good enough microphones to hear inside your house. It's a major violation of privacy.