cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/56877027
The article itself is from August, but after seeing Flock cameras at a local Lowe’s store that were missing from the DeFlock map, I thought it’d be worth bringing increased attention to such companies contributing to the propagation of Flock cameras. If there’s a Home Depot or Lowe’s near you that’s not on the DeFlock map already, it might just not have been added yet.
It’s almost as if the world would be better off if those Flock cameras with the solar panels and the flashing lights were all vandalized and destroyed…
I’ll never shop there again
I’d been boycotting Home Depot because of their trump support, but Lowe’s was the alternative. There are some tiny little Ace Hardware stores, but they never have what I need and offer to order it with a week or so of lag time. Amazon is faster, but also, fuck Amazon.
It was once an upon a time reasonable to boycott. Now look, as your options dwindle to fascist supporter A, B, or C. That, or a single alternative who can’t actually meet your consumption needs. This is a problem that has gotten worse with time and will continue to get worse so long as nothing is done. Imagine a world where all your options for water are Nestle and similar. We can argue on the specifics, but that’s the general consumer dystopia we’re clearly headed towards. Our way of life has been compromised.
Maybe recalibrate your needs vs. wants.
Same re:HD and Lowe’s. My nearest Lowe’s has three of these cameras in their parking lot. They not only spy on you but they flash their lights and play audio messages at you too. In the fine print of the Lowe’s “Pro” membership (it’s really a loyalty program and anyone can sign up) they ask you to explicitly agree to Flock surveillance and to agree that you have no rights to/over the data they collect. I avoid Lowe’s when I can now - clearly they have no respect for their customers and their prices/selection are no better than elsewhere.
The deflock site doesn’t show any cameras at my closest HD but I don’t know if this means that they respect their customers slightly more than Lowe’s or if it means the site just hasn’t been updated yet. I’ll have to make a point of looking the next time I’m up that way. Yeah, there aren’t a whole lot of good alternatives to BigBoxHomeStores here either. Sometimes Walmart will have the more commodity stuff, but who wants to spend money at Walmart? At my nearest one, the management has lately been permitting anti-trans signature-gathering, allowing hate groups to set up tables on Walmart property right outside the main entrance where they can accost customers easily. The store is also hiring off-duty city cops to stand around doing nothing. If I want to be watched by cops I can get that anywhere in public - don’t need to breathe Walmart air too.
The deflock site doesn’t show any cameras at my closest HD but I don’t know if this means that they respect their customers slightly more than Lowe’s or if it means the site just hasn’t been updated yet. I’ll have to make a point of looking the next time I’m up that way.
Same here. I’d like to think that there don’t exist here but I’ll bet they do it’s just that no one has updated the map.
Anywhere that you see those camera towers with blue lights does this, it’s a massive network.
Requisite link: https://deflock.me/
