Some of the earliest local reporting on Eugene’s decision to install Flock surveillance systems throughout the city came from local grass-roots journalists at Dissonant Times, with their article “Let’s Leave the Flock” ^{(archive link)} on June 22, 2025.

Not only were they early to the party, but their reporting is excellent. They provide far more detail than other local media: they describe Flock’s ability to capture not just license plates, as has been credulously reported by other local outlets, but also vehicle descriptions (year, make, model, color, among others), bicycles, and even animals. Our own research has been able to verify that Flock’s cameras have on-board AI-powered software that identifies these and other objects.

The article raised a lot of sensible issues with Flock’s surveillance system, including its past misuse by ICE and the Texas abortion case, and included known camera locations at the time of its publication. This is the kind of reporting we should be able to expect from local media.