More Americans oppose police license plate cameras than support them: survey

The growing backlash against surveillance companies like Flock may have reached a tipping point.

A new survey has found that more Americans oppose these surveillance cameras than support them.

According to a new YouGov survey of 20,000 people across the U.S. that was shared exclusively with The Washington Post, 46% of respondents opposed the company’s surveillance cameras in their communities, while 38% supported them. This is a reversal from last year, when the majority of survey respondents said they were in favor.

Flock is one of the more visible surveillance companies, operating more than 120,000 license plate readers across the U.S. that can track the whereabouts of vehicles. The company has been embroiled in controversy following reports of police abusing the cameras’ surveillance, which resulted in dozens of U.S. communities rejecting Flock’s cameras or canceling their contracts amid privacy concerns.

The survey also reported that more respondents said the surveillance would not make them feel any safer. When reached by TechCrunch, Flock claimed there was wide support for its surveillance technology, but acknowledged that “support isn’t unconditional,” and touted the rollout of its recent safeguards.

Critics, like the ACLU, have said the company’s new safeguards amount to little, and Flock remains a major threat to civil liberties. Amid the intensifying backlash, Flock CEO Garrett Langley last week called for a “compromise” between surveillance and privacy, following a rise in vandalism targeting Flock cameras.