We did it!
We have 500 signatures on our petition to President Garimella to end the University of Arizona’s contract with Flock Safety!
Before you do anything else, please re-post the petition on your socials and send it to your affinity groups, neighborhood associations. That’s how we get to 1000!
Good News from South Tucson
The City of South Tucson City Council agreed last week in principal to end its contract with Flock Safety. We plalyed a big role in making this happen. We found the ALPRs, mapped them, posted what we learned on social media, and forced a special meeting of the council to discuss community resistance. We showed up, and we spoke out.
A lot of people I talk to say that ‘there’s nothing we can do’ about mass surveillance. But that’s just a story people tell to justify doing nothing. The truth is that the power is in our hands, and if we work together we can stop the growth of mass surveillance in our community.
The City Council will take a formal vote at next Tuesday’s council meeting. Please be there at 6 p.m.—South Tucson City Hall—to hold them to their word. Sign up to speak, or be a silent witness.
More Good News—from the University of Arizona
The Faculty Senate has convened an ad hoc committee to explore the university’s contract with Flock Safety, and to develop guidelines for present and future deployment of physical surveillance systems. The President of the Senate shared with me that Deflock Tucson had been instrumental in creating the momentum for this. Our relentless media campaign and our regular presence on campus—like last week-end’s bannering at Homecoming (photo above)—has forced the issue of mass surveillance into the campus conversation.
Some Bad News
We found five more ALPRs in UA’s mass surveillance network. Two of them are on Sixth Street between Campbell and Euclid! This means that every day, 20-30 thousand drivers who have no connection to the university are unwittingly being caught up in UA’s electronic dragnet. How does tracking those drivers’ movements make the university safer? How does it make those drivers safer? It doesn’t. Flock Safety is a data grift, a massive transfer of both data and money from a public institution to a private company. We must end the contract!
A Statewide Movement
We have connected with activists throughout the state who are working to end mass surveillance in their communities, or who have already succeeded (Sedona!). When people learn what Flock Safety and similar systems actually do, then they no longer believe the myth of public safety through surveillance that Flock Safety peddles.
Join Us!
We need your voice, your heart, and your hands. This is a non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving our Fourth Amendment rights and making Tucson surveilance-free. We are growing, and you have an important role to play in planning and carrying out our activities. Go to our website, scroll to the bottom of the home page, and sign up!