Jessica Burbank on the Rise of Flock Safety and America's Surveillance State
As Americans are told to accept an ever-expanding web of cameras, drones, and AI-powered policing in the name of public safety, few journalists have followed the rise of Flock Safety as closely as Jessica Burbank. An investigative reporter and political commentator, Burbank published an early in-depth investigation into the rapidly growing surveillance company for Dropsite News. She has since continued reporting on Flock through a series of investigations and a self-produced documentary—free to watch on YouTube—which examines how the company is reshaping policing and civil liberties across the country. Burbank joined Current Affairs to discuss the expansion of mass surveillance in America, how Flock has embedded itself in local governments with remarkably little public scrutiny, and why she believes its growth poses a profound threat to democratic freedoms.