It seems like everywhere you go in the United States now, there is some kind of Flock camera present. You can hardly walk your dog without the feeling you are being watched by these cameras, which are installed under the veil of "safety." In reality, it is a slippery slope toward a surveillance state take over that only George Orwell could conjure.

Powered by artificial intelligence, the Flock camera not just watch what Americans do, they also automatically scan your license plate. They capture the make and model of the vehicle, as well as anu unique characteristics. All while you drive to get food or go shopping. It captures all of this whether or not you have been involved in a crime and all without your consent. It has gotten bad enough that lawmakers are beginning to speak against it and call for transparency.

Terri Hall of Texans for Toll Free Highways says this action by these cameras essentially amounts to a violation of the constitution.

"That is what is worrying people...we did not consent to this, and there is no probable cause to be tracking every driver move when they leave their house," she says.

Privacy is a foundation of America. We have free speech and are not supposed to be subjected to unlawful search or seizure. Yet, this violates at least the latter half of that equation. Not being able to go to McDonalds to get a coke without being watched by the government is, to put it simply, horrifyingly egregious.

But go even beyond just the technology itself. We have had several data breaches via hacking in recent years, where millions of Americans personal data was exposed or sold off to the highest bidder. No technology is hacker proof, so this danger also presents itself with these ridiculous readers.

Worse yet, the question of where this license plate data is going, who it is going to, and what is will be used for have gone completely unanswered. Do not fall either for the guise of it being for "safety."

"It is not just law enforcement...it can be going to your insurance companies, to marketing companies...there are all sorts of ways they can be using this data without our consent and without a warrant," says Hall.

It needs to be addressed soon too, before we become like the friends across the pond.

"This is one of the number one criticism we hear of people who travel to Europe...they have these CCTV cameras, you leave your house, they think you are fair game to be spied on by the government," Hall says. "That is not what happens in America because we have these constitutional rights."

These shallow companies like Flock though are not just going to go away because people do not like them. They could not care any less about what Americans want or their privacy as long as they make money. They will continue lobbying in state and federal legislature to install more and spy more.

Hall adds that is why it is important for voters to establish rapport with their lawmakers. Because without voter pushback, we might be heading toward Orwell's 1984 quicker than we thought.

San Antonio's First News