Mass Surveillance and Why I Will Never Support It
- Sam Flinkstrom
- Dec 4
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 9
UPDATE:
I sent an email inquiry to the Town to see if they had any current or future intentions to utilize this type of technology. There is not. Here is my inquiry and their responses:
ORIGINAL POST:
Over the past year, more towns in Maine (and around the country) have begun installing AI-enabled license-plate cameras and other automated surveillance systems. These tools are often marketed as simple public-safety upgrades. The companies behind them promise the data won’t be misused, and police departments and IT departments say they won’t share the information collected.
Recently the Portland Press Herald reported that several Maine communities have already deployed these systems despite major privacy concerns. More locally, York has implemented and continues to use these systems.
Despite these communities’ promises not to share the data from these systems, just this month in Washington State, a judge ordered that the information collected by Flock Safety’s cameras qualified as a public record and ruled it must be released. In response to this order, both Washington departments immediately shut the systems off.
This ruling confirms what many residents have worried about: once a surveillance system is installed and begins logging data on everyone, the Town no longer fully controls where that information goes, how long it exists, or who can legally request it.
These systems don’t just capture “the bad guys.” They capture everyone. That means ordinary residents’ daily routines, work schedules, school drop-offs, and personal errands all end up recorded, timestamped, and stored.
The companies involved may promise that data won’t be shared. Local departments may promise to use it responsibly. But as the Washington case showed, once the data exists, courts can compel its release, systems can be hacked, and future leadership can make different decisions than the ones promised today.
It is not worth creating a permanent surveillance system that tracks all of us, when we have no way of fully guaranteeing how the data will be used down the road. Period.
Public safety is essential, but it does not require building a database of residents’ movements. Mass surveillance does not build trust, it erodes it.
As a Councilor, I will not support the implementation of mass surveillance infrastructure. I believe the risks (long-term data storage, future misuse, legal exposure, and the loss of privacy) far outweigh the promised benefits.
If residents have thoughts, concerns, or experiences with this type of technology, I welcome your input. You can email any public comment to the Council before any meeting – whether the topic is on the agenda or not. In your email, you should include the phrase “Public Comment” in the subject line and include your name and address in the body of the email.
Email public comments to: councilors@sbmaine.us
South Berwick works best when we build systems that strengthen trust and not ones that quietly chip away at it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.
--Sam Flinkstrom
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