Forbes has learned the shipping and business services company is using AI tools made by Flock Safety, a $4 billion car surveillance startup, to monitor its distribution and cargo facilities across the United States. As part of the deal, FedEx is providing its Flock surveillance feeds to law enforcement, an arrangement that Flock has with at least four multi-billion dollar private companies. But publicly available documents reveal that some local police departments are also sharing their Flock feeds with FedEx — a rare instance of a private company availing itself of a police surveillance apparatus.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/06/19/fedex-police-help-cops-build-an-ai-car-surveillance-network/
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Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/06/19/fedex-police-help-cops-build-an-ai-car-surveillance-network/
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Today on Forbes, FedEx's secretive police force is helping cops build an AI car surveillance network.
00:0920 years ago, FedEx established its own police force.
00:12Now it's working with local police to build out an AI car surveillance network.
00:17Forbes has learned the shipping and business services company is using AI tools made by Flock Safety,
00:22a $4 billion car surveillance startup, to monitor its distribution in cargo facilities across the United States.
00:30As part of the deal, FedEx is providing its Flock surveillance feeds to law enforcement,
00:35an arrangement that Flock has with at least four multi-billion dollar private companies.
00:40But publicly available documents reveal that some local police departments are also sharing their Flock feeds with FedEx,
00:46a rare instance of a private company availing itself of a police surveillance apparatus.
00:52To civil rights activists, such close collaboration has the potential to dramatically expand Flock's car surveillance network,
00:59which already spans 4,000 cities across over 40 states,
01:02and some 40,000 cameras that track vehicles by license plate, make, model, color,
01:08and other identifying characteristics like dents or bumper stickers.
01:13Lisa Femia, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
01:17said because private entities aren't subject to the same transparency laws as police,
01:21this sort of arrangement could, quote,
01:23leave the public in the dark, while at the same time expanding a sort of mass surveillance network.
01:29Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union,
01:33said it was, quote,
01:42He added, quote,
01:44He added, quote,
01:52FedEx declined to answer questions about the nature of its partnership with Flock.
01:56Spokesperson Felicia Jackson told Forbes, quote,
02:06It's unclear just how widely law enforcement is sharing Flock data with FedEx.
02:10According to publicly available lists of data-sharing partners,
02:13two police departments have granted the FedEx Air Carrier Police Department access to their Flock cameras,
02:18Shelby County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee and Pittsboro Police Department in Indiana.
02:24Shelby County Sheriff's Office public information officer John Morris confirmed the collaboration.
02:29He told Forbes via email, quote,
02:40Pittsboro Police Chief Scott King didn't comment on why FedEx had access to its Flock feeds,
02:45but said the data flow didn't go the other way.
02:48He said, quote,
02:56FedEx is also sharing its Flock camera feeds with other police departments,
02:59including the Greenwood Police Department in Indiana.
03:02This according to Matthew Philenwarth, assistant chief at the agency.
03:07The Shelby County Sheriff's Office confirmed its department had access to FedEx's Flock feeds too.
03:12The Memphis Police Department said it received surveillance camera feeds from FedEx
03:16through its Connect Memphis system,
03:18but declined to confirm if those systems were powered by Flock.
03:22Flock, which was founded in 2017,
03:25has raised more than $482 million in venture capital investment from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz,
03:31helping it expand its vast network of cameras across America
03:34through both public police department contracts
03:37and through more secretive agreements with private businesses.
03:40Forbes has now uncovered at least four corporate giants using Flock,
03:44none of which had publicly disclosed contracts with the surveillance startup.
03:48As Forbes previously reported,
03:50$50 billion valued Simon Property,
03:53the country's biggest mall owner,
03:55and home improvement giant Lowe's,
03:57are two of the biggest clients.
03:59Like FedEx,
04:00Simon Property also has provided its mall feeds to local cops.
04:04Lowe's appears to be doing the same in at least two instances,
04:07sharing with both Shelby County Sheriff's Office and,
04:10per a recent public records request,
04:12the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department,
04:14which is also a Flock customer.
04:17Lowe's previously told Forbes its use of Flock was,
04:21just one example of a multifaceted approach to combat shoplifting.
04:26For full coverage, check out Thomas Brewster's piece on Forbes.com.
04:31This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:34Thanks for tuning in.