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The growing backlash against surveillance companies like Flock may have reached a tipping point. A new survey has found that more Americans oppose these surveillance cameras than support it.<\/p>\n
According to a new YouGov survey of 20,000 people across the U.S. that was shared exclusively with The Washington Post<\/a>, 46% of respondents opposed the company\u2019s surveillance cameras in their communities, while 38% supported them. This is a reversal from last year, when the majority of survey respondents said they were in favor.<\/p>\n Flock is one of the more visible surveillance companies, operating more than 120,000 license plate readers across the U.S. that can track the whereabouts of vehicles. The company has been embroiled in controversy following reports of police abusing the cameras\u2019 surveillance<\/a>, which resulted in dozens of U.S. communities rejecting Flock\u2019s cameras or cancelling their contracts amid privacy concerns.<\/p>\n The survey also reported that more respondents said the surveillance would not make them feel any safer.<\/p>\n When reached by TechCrunch, Flock claimed there was wide support for its surveillance technology, but acknowledged that \u201csupport isn\u2019t unconditional,\u201d and touted the rollout of its recent safeguards<\/a>. Critics, like the ACLU, have said the company\u2019s new safeguards<\/a> amount to little, and Flock remains a major threat to civil liberties.<\/p>\n Amid the intensifying backlash, Flock CEO Garrett Langley last week called for a \u201ccompromise\u201d<\/a> between surveillance and privacy, following a rise in vandalism targeting Flock cameras.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n