The Majority Report with Sam Seder 3537 - A Growing Surveillance State or a Third Reconstruction w/ Jessica Burbank, K. Sabeel Rahman
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Dec 3, 2025 Jessica Burbank, an investigative journalist focused on surveillance, shares insights on Flock Safety's controversial AI-powered monitoring network. She reveals how this unregulated system may violate the Fourth Amendment and the alarming extent of its data access. Also joining is K. Sabeel Rahman, a law professor advocating for a 'Third Reconstruction' to revitalize democracy. He discusses the necessity of transforming institutions to counteract reactionary forces and emphasizes grassroots movements and structural reforms to dismantle threats to inclusion.
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Private Company Built A National Surveillance Network
- Flock built a nationwide, searchable license-plate camera network by signing municipal contracts city-by-city.
- That local rollout bypasses federal debate and creates de facto national surveillance accessible to subscribers and subpoena requests.
How Scarsdale Exposed Flock's Tactics
- Jessica investigated Scarsdale after a resident alerted her to quietly approved license-plate cameras.
- Scarsdale's wealthy, engaged residents organized public pushback that made the story visible and actionable.
Local Data Becomes Cross-State Policing Power
- Flock's model trades municipal data-sharing for network access, letting subscribing agencies search cameras across states.
- That setup enabled tracking a woman crossing state lines for an abortion and shows how local data becomes national police leverage.
