Palantalk in Review
In Episode 17 of Palantalk, Nick Paro and Shane Yirak are joined once again by journalist and researcher Melissa Corrigan, she/her, to unpack one of the most urgent and underreported issues facing communities across the United States: the rapid expansion of mass surveillance and data collection infrastructure under the guise of public safety.
The conversation centers on Flock Safety, a surveillance technology company best known for its so-called license plate reader cameras — whose actual capabilities extend far beyond traffic monitoring. As Melissa explains, Flock’s NOVA dashboard aggregates data from multiple sources, including license plate readers, police body cams, fixed surveillance cameras, private Ring cameras, and increasingly, drones. The result is a system capable of reconstructing individuals’ movements across entire cities — without warrants, public disclosure, or meaningful oversight.
Using Norfolk, VA as a case study, Melissa details how Flock cameras have been installed without public notice, public comment, or a vote, and were actively accessed by police before any official data policy even existed. Court discovery later revealed that individual residents were logged hundreds of times, directly contradicting law enforcement claims that the system did not “track” people.
While a recent appellate ruling weakened 4th Amendment protections by asserting that people have no reasonable expectation of privacy on public roads, the discussion highlights why this logic is dangerous in an era of persistent, automated tracking. As Shane points out, laws are not static — and data collected today can be retroactively weaponized tomorrow when definitions of “illegal” behavior inevitably shift.
The episode also dives into Flock Safety’s extraordinary behavior as a vendor, including:
Attempting to insert itself as a defendant in civil rights litigation
Refusing to remove equipment after cities canceled contracts
Leasing private land to maintain surveillance coverage after municipal rejection
Actively resisting local democratic decisions
This is not neutral vendor conduct—it is the behavior of a company asserting surveillance as a right, not a service.
The discussion expands further into the use of police drones, which have been deployed in Norfolk despite FAA-restricted airspace due to nearby military installations and previous denials that such technology would be used at all. Once again, citizens were not informed.
The episode closes with a sobering but grounded assessment of where accountability may realistically emerge. Courts have proven inconsistent. Legislatures have lagged behind technology.
What has worked elsewhere, Melissa notes, is organized public pressure: citizens attending city council meetings, forcing transparency on the record, filing FOIA requests, and coordinating community action.
As economic pressures intensify and personal consequences mount, the team argues that broader public awareness — and resistance — may finally catch up to the scale of the problem.
This episode is not just a warning. It’s a call to pay attention, ask questions locally, and recognize that surveillance systems, once normalized, are extraordinarily difficult to dismantle.
Disclaimer: We are in no way a danger to ourselves or others. We are in no way having any ideations of self harm or harming others. We are in no way promoting or suggesting any type of violent action towards these tech companies, the cities and law enforcement agencies that contract with them, or any agency of local, state, or federal law enforcement. We insist our readers maintain a nonviolent position of resistance.
Spacetalk in Review
Shane Yirak with SpaceTalk — this week, continuing the discussion into Cosmic Expansion!
Actions You Can Take
Call your public servants on important issues:
Join the efforts to unmask law enforcement and feed America:
Sign the Move-On Petitions:
Investigate Presidential Use of the Autopen for Pardons and Executive Actions
A Petition to End the Shutdown and Restore Representation: Remove Speaker Johnson
Service members can get un-biased information on legal vs illegal orders:
Reach out on Signal: @TheOrdersProject.76
Thank you Neurodivergent Hodgepodge, Beth Cruz, Cris, Judith Evans, Ms. H, and many others for tuning into my live video with Melissa Corrigan, she/her, Nick Paro, and Shane Yirak! Join me for my next live video in the app.
Banner & Backbone Authors’ Notes
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