Influencers are urging Home Depot and Lowe's to drop Flock
A group of online influencers is pressuring Home Depot and Lowe's to terminate contracts with Flock Safety, a surveillance technology company. Critics argue that the company's license plate readers in retail parking lots pose privacy risks to immigrant communities and people of color.
Why it matters
This reflects growing public scrutiny over the intersection of private retail security, surveillance technology, and civil liberties.
Home Depot and Lowe's, two of the largest home-improvement retailers in the US, are being asked to drop their contracts with Flock. Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images Flock Safety, maker of automated license plate readers, has more than 5,000 private-sector clients. Some consumers are now demanding that companies drop their contracts with Flock. A group of online creators launched a campaign demanding Home Depot and Lowe's end ties with Flock. A group of online creators with a combined 46 million followers is demanding Lowe's and Home Depot — two of the largest home-improvement stores in the US — to cut ties with Flock Safety amid a nationwide campaign against large retailers that may have contracts with the surveillance tech company.
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