Tomorrow: 5 county boards meet. Help us protect our children
New Hanover's School Board kept AI cameras out of the schools. Tomorrow, five county boards can keep them away from our kids at the parks. 👉 Read the full story (plain language, with the records): https://deflockilm.org/flock-condors-child-safety-new-hanover/
Tomorrow is a big day for Cape Fear children — and five county boards will be in session.
Here is something most people never heard. In 2025, the New Hanover County School Board was offered a state program to put AI cameras in our schools. Parents spoke up. The board listened. They voted no — twice — to keep AI cameras away from our kids.
But at almost the same time, the Sheriff quietly signed New Hanover up for Flock's camera network, with no public vote — and eight AI "Condor" cameras went up over our county parks, pointed at the ball fields and playgrounds where children play. These are not plate readers. They swivel, tilt, and zoom, and use AI to follow a person. In December 2025, about 60 of these same cameras were found streaming live on the open internet with no password — one of them aimed at a children's playground.
The School Board protected our children. Now it's the Commissioners' turn
Where to show up — Monday, October 19
Your two minutes at the podium matter. New Hanover has the Condor vote on its agenda. At the others, use the public‑comment period to ask your board to protect children and end Flock. If you can, wear red and arrive early to sign up.
🕘 New Hanover County Commissioners — 9:00 AM (the big one for the Flock Condor Cameras Making Our Children Unsafe) Historic Courthouse, 24 N. Third Street, Room 301, Wilmington. On the agenda: removing the 8 Condor cameras from county parks. Public comment is at the end — sign up in person by 3:30 PM. Ask the Board to take the Condors down and protect our children.
🕕 Kure Beach Town Council — 6:00 PM Kure Beach Town Hall, 117 Settlers Lane. (To speak: sign up before the meeting, or contact the Town Clerk by the Wednesday prior.)
🕕 Brunswick County Commissioners — 6:00 PM Sandifer Administration Building, 30 Government Center Dr NE, Bolivia. The board takes up its Flock/ALPR review — ask them to finish the job with a public vote to end the contract. We broke a new story about the BCSO policy and how it is illusory just this week at https://deflockilm.org/brunswick-alpr-policy-no-audit/
🕕 Pender County Commissioners — 6:00 PM Public Assembly Room, 805 S. Walker Street, Burgaw. Atkinson — in Pender — just became the first NC town to ban these cameras. Ask the county to follow its own town's lead. To learn more about Pender Tax Payers funding a spy network for Texas see https://deflockilm.org/pender-flock-network-audit-2-million-searches/
🕡 Columbus County Commissioners — 6:30 PM 127 W. Webster Street, Whiteville.
🕕 Onslow County Commissioners — 6:00 PM Onslow County Government Center, 234 NW Corridor Blvd, Jacksonville.
Times and places are each board's regular third‑Monday meeting.
What to say — keep it simple
You don't need to be an expert. A few true sentences are enough:
These are AI video and ALPR cameras that follow people, pointed at the parks where our kids play. The video of a child has almost no protection under North Carolina law — no limit on how long it's kept, no rule against selling it, and no requirement that anyone make sure it can't be hacked. (It already was.) The New Hanover County School Board kept AI cameras out of the schools to protect our kids. Our Commissioners should keep them away from our children at the parks. It's time to protect our children.
Can't make it? You can still help in two minutes:
📣 Share the graphic above and the story: https://deflockilm.org/flock-condors-child-safety-new-hanover/
✍️ Sign and share the petition: https://www.change.org/DeFlockILM
📧 Email your Commissioners and tell them: protect our children — take the park cameras down.
Thank you for standing up for the kids of the Cape Fear.
— Mark Williams DeFlockILM · deflockilm.org