Thank You, Montana, For Protecting Us from the Latest Surveillance Craze

If you haven't heard by now, Flock cameras and privacy rights in general continue to be a hot topic for everyone - especially for us here at the radio station.

Recently, I came across a story about a new surveillance craze taking over north Texas near my old stomping grounds and let me just say: boy, I am glad I live in Montana!

Dallas Just Introduced the Most Ridiculous Camera Concept Ever

An investigative report from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth revealed that the City of Dallas is utilizing "AI code enforcement cameras" attached to garbage trucks that record along the truck's route.

The purpose of these cameras is to snap photos of homes the trucks pass by and good ol' AI detects "potential code violations."

ALSO READ: Montana Supreme Court Backup Data Accessed by a Third-Party

I have to admit just typing that out felt a little annoying. No consent needed, nothing.

How is this okay?

Montana's Protections Against Surveillance Cameras

Thankfully, it doesn't sound like we have anything to worry about here in Great Falls or Montana.

Shoot, in The Constitution of the State of Montana, section 10 explicitly highlights our right to privacy.

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"The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest."

And then we have SB 392 that protects us from facial recognition techonology.

I mean, that's enough to ensure that would never happen here... right?

The #1 Reason Why Montana Wouldn't Allow AI Cameras Like This

I'm not picking a side here but if someone were to defend Flock cameras versus AI cameras on garbage trucks, you could make an argument.

That would be that Flock cameras are set up in public settings and could be utilized by law enforcement (with proper and ethical protocol) while these garbage truck cameras are actively "looking" for violations and photographing someone's private property.

Plus, why in the world would anyone want to put this type of heat on our beloved garbage truck workers? What an awkward spot to be in, huh?

What do you think? Is there any reason why these garbage truck cameras would be good for Great Falls or Montana? Let me know your opinions HERE.