Newly installed Flock Safety cameras in Yosemite National Park are drawing fresh criticism from privacy advocates who warn the technology could expand mass surveillance in one of America’s most visited public lands.
The automated license plate readers, which capture and scan vehicle plate information, were placed at six sites throughout the vast park last month, according to data published by the tracking tool DeFlock.org.
Their arrival comes as Flock’s camera network faces growing pushback. In Monterey County, opponents have reportedly pulled devices down, while the Los Angeles Police Department suspended its contract with the company amid concerns over privacy protections and data security.
Nationwide, more than 117,000 Flock Safety automated license plate readers have been mapped, including over 16,000 in California, according to DeFlock’s database.
The Yosemite cameras have been identified at these locations:
While locals are concerned about threats of mass surveillance, Yosemite National Park officials say the cameras are not designed to read license plates but to help control traffic –– which has previously forced drivers to sit in their cars for 90 minutes before getting into the park over weekends.
“Gridlock. Cars everywhere. People everywhere. No parking. No space,” visitor Lorena Calvillo wrote on Yosemite National Park’s official Facebook page.
Officials say they are placed to provide better information on park visitors about wait times within the park using an Integrated Visitor Information System, according to YourCentralValley.com.
The national park had recently won a grant in innovation funding by the National Park Foundation to “design unified, park-wide system that integrates real-time data on traffic, parking, and road conditions into automated, multichannel visitor information.”
The sophisticated high-tech system is expected to have smart cameras and sensors along the roads and parking lots that would count cars and track traffic as it happens.
Marcus Bee, 40, from Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County was booked last month for destroying three Flock cameras in Monterey County.
Sheriff Tina Nieto said at the time: “Whenever you take away what we call an ALPR system, any camera system, you’re taking away a tool that our investigators are using to help solve other crimes.”
California has the most of the cameras, with three other states trailing: Florida with 7,169, Georgia with 7,046, and Illinois with 5,822.
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