As a resident concerned about privacy and civil liberties, I am deeply troubled by the increasing use of Flock Safety's license plate readers throughout Snohomish County. These devices, deployed widely and often without transparency, seem to infringe upon the public's Fourth Amendment rights, which protect us all from undue search and seizure.

It appears that the surveillance work they conduct may be a violation of 4th amendment rights, as seen in Carpenter v. United States (2018): where the Supreme Court held that the Government requires a search warrant to access a cell phone's location data. Similarly, in United States v. Jones (2012) they held that the Government’s attachment of the GPS device to the vehicle and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movements constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. The court noted, in reference to both cases, “that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of their physical movements.” Similarly, a network of these cameras may find and track your whereabouts, and likely destination.

Flock Safety, in collaboration with Palantir, Peter Thiel's data analytics company, use these readers to collect and store data. This collection of data generates profiles and intelligence on individuals and neighborhoods, which is then utilized by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Such practices can easily lead to surveillance overreach and threaten the very freedoms the Fourth Amendment is designed to protect.

This petition seeks to mirror the actions of neighboring counties and cities in Western Washington, and move to protect our communities from this overreach cloaked, as always, in rhetoric touting safety and security benefits - with little voice given to the negative implications of such measures against our constitutional rights.

Moreover, the security of these devices is questionable; they are reportedly easy to hack. This not only jeopardizes personal privacy but also raises concerns about who might access this sensitive data and how it might be exploited. Such devices could be purposed into surveillance tools for organized crime, creating 'patterns of life' from large amounts of data which could be used for any sort of malicious purpose.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, widespread surveillance technologies like Flock's systems can create a chilling effect on legal activities and free expression. Residents may alter behavior for fear of being watched, leading to a community driven by fear rather than freedom.

It is crucial that we demand accountability and transparency regarding the use of these surveillance technologies in our communities. We call upon the officials of Snohomish County to reconsider and restrict the deployment of Flock Safety's license plate readers unless they can be proven to respect civil liberties, meet rigorous security standards, and operate with full transparency.

Join me in standing against practices that threaten our constitutional rights and advocate for the privacy and freedoms we are guaranteed. Sign this petition to urge the leaders of Snohomish County to end the use of Flock Safety license plate readers in our community.