After the Week of Action, What's Next?

The Week of Action, locally and nationally, was a success! Here in Taos, a good-sized group took to the main intersection in downtown to hold a mass surveillance themed protest, reaching hundreds, if not over a thousand passerby in an hour's time. A petition was launched, still being passed around locally, and continues to gather signatures.

Most of the major local actions in Taos occurred prior to the actual week of action, all determined by agenda items in front of our elected officials. The Taos town council voted to discontinue funding the 18 Flock cameras during the annual budget approval. The cameras remain up, but it appears they are mostly turned off. There is movement to have the town remove them permanently.

At the county level, the commission tabled a request from the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to install cameras on streetlight poles, asking the state agency to share more information. To date, that request has not reappeared.

Statewide, other municipalities have followed Taos' lead. First, Bernalillo County canceled its three contracts with Flock, then the City of Grants.

This is all good news, but we must watch out for the bait and switch of moving toward automated license plate readers from a different company. Flock has a poor reputation, but the issues surrounding mass surveillance remain the same, no matter what company is contracted by local governments.

With automated license plate readers (ALPRs) now in the national conversation, the national DeFlock movement announced their next campaign to focus on local elections in November. "Elections always have consequences," their toolkit states. "We should prepare to push candidates on their positions regarding the use of surveillance technologies by police departments and sheriff’s offices."

Notice that this is not just just about ALPRs, but all surveillance technologies.

I'll reach out to local candidates, regardless if they are running unopposed, to ask the national questions and publish any responses here. It's always encouraged that you continue to engage with elected officials on the topic beyond the questions.

There are other actions to take as well, some which I already have in process. One—talking about surveillance with your neighbors—is something launched during the Week of Action: the Taos Surveillance Watch Book Club, with the first pick being Gil Durán's new book, "The Nerd Reich," already a New York Times bestseller and going for a second printing. Details are are still forthcoming, but plan for a meetup this fall. Reach out if you want to be in touch about the meetup time and date.

There’s another related book club out there, too. Check out the flyer below from a reader of this newsletter. “End Times Fascism” comes out September 15 and relates to “The Nerd Reich.”

(If you’re looking for a low-key way to read any of these books and chat with fellow readers, check out the new Silent Book Club chapter’s inaugural event this Thursday night).

As for other actions, I’ll continue to pull public records as I can and look into campaign donations (so far, nothing has popped out to me).