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Judge denies request to exempt Flock footage from Public Records Act

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159 points p_ing | 3 comments | 09 Nov 25 00:53 UTC | HN request time: 0.639s | source
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jmpman ◴[09 Nov 25 02:24 UTC] No.45862348[source]▶
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/08/us/melodee-buzzard-missing-se...

How was all of this data gathered without being a violation?

replies(1): >>45862528 #
FireBeyond ◴[09 Nov 25 03:03 UTC] No.45862528[source]▶
This is a reasonably common (sadly) methodology that many agencies utilize.

"We are not legally permitted to blanket surveil/ALPR entire neighborhoods/towns, etc. ...

... and we can't pay a private company to do this for us ...

... but nothing prevents us from paying a private company who is doing it already, to give us that data."

The line between the last two is blurry but also utilized - you can't put out an RFP for a company to capture such data that you're not permitted to, but if that company is doing it because it sees a/your market for it, then it's a free-for-all.

replies(2): >>45862814 #>>45863225 #
deaux ◴[09 Nov 25 05:43 UTC] No.45863225[source]▶
Flock (YC S17)

Bets on this strategy having been part of their seed pitch deck? Guess they would've left it out, keeping it as nudge nudge wink wink and discussing during QA.

replies(3): >>45863466 #>>45863477 #>>45864141 #
1. jackstraw42 ◴[09 Nov 25 06:49 UTC] No.45863477[source]▶
> Flock (YC S17)

Ah, and there it is. Why shouldn't Y-Combinator be a force for evil like the rest of them? Paul Graham has been off his rocker for about as long as I can remember now, unfortunately my memories of people like this doing anything good for the world are so far in the past, they're fading. What a shame.

replies(1): >>45864227 #
2. lightedman ◴[09 Nov 25 09:25 UTC] No.45864227[source]▶
"Why shouldn't Y-Combinator be a force for evil like the rest of them?"

We should figure out a way to hold YC accountable for their helping these companies screw our rights and privacy.

replies(1): >>45864431 #
3. badgersnake ◴[09 Nov 25 10:07 UTC] No.45864431[source]▶
I don’t know where this idea that YC is supposed to be an ethical investor comes from. It’s certainly not in their principles:

https://www.ycombinator.com/principles/