In 1984, the Thought Police weren't looking for criminals. Neither is Flock Safety.
99% of the plates they scan belong to people suspected of nothing.
South Carolina has more than 1,600 of these cameras logging your daily movements, and not one state law that says who can look, or for how long they keep it.
The scale of it, in South Carolina
These cameras are watching your South Carolina town right now.
1,651 cameras · 37 jurisdictions
Pan across the state, tap any dot to see the vendor, operating agency, and direction each camera faces.
Map tiles by OpenFreeMap · OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap
Camera data from Deflock.org, a community-sourced map of Flock Safety camera locations. Help keep it updated by reporting cameras you find.
What we're asking every SC council to pass.
Oconee County is advancing South Carolina's first ordinance of its kind: "Protection from Mass Surveillance." It cleared its first reading 4–1 on Aug 18, 2026, with the final vote set for Sept 15. Here are the provisions we've modeled on it for every SC council, two of them tailored to city or county authority.
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Define the problem by capability
It never names Flock: a system is covered when it logs people or vehicles in public and can build a searchable location history, track across places, run facial recognition, or share to an outside network, while a basic hot-list plate check is carved out.
Oconee § 2-502 -
Keep public money and property out of it
No public funds, subscriptions, power, or communications may support a covered system, and none of it may sit on public property or road rights-of-way.
Oconee §§ 2-504 to 506 -
Set a firm removal timeline
For a system already in place, outside data-sharing and funded connections stop within 10 business days of notice and the equipment comes down within 30, turning a pause into a removal on a fixed schedule.
Oconee § 2-507 -
Report publicly, and enforce it
The policy is administered, reported in public once a year, and backed by defined remedies when the rules are broken, so it stays accountable to the people it covers.
Oconee §§ 2-514 to 515 -
Publish the audit logs
CityPost a plain public record of every search on a regular schedule, who ran it, when, and the reason they gave, so audits catch misuse without waiting for a complaint.
A city addition, beyond Oconee -
Close the side doors
CountyThe county can condition its discretionary money to towns, its accommodations-tax funds, and its sponsored events on the same rule, and bar anyone from routing the system through a nonprofit or festival committee to dodge it.
Oconee §§ 2-508 to 510, 2-513
The most powerful thing you can do: speak at your city and county council.
A camera contract is decided in a room you're allowed to stand up in. Find who represents you, then show up: three minutes of public comment moves more than a thousand clicks.
The Contact Your Reps flow matches your address to everyone who represents you, including your city and county council, in seconds. Print the one-page brief and hand it across the dais: it's plain-language, sourced, and stands on its own.
- FOIA templates Ready-to-send public-records letters for any SC agency running Flock. Templates
- Public-comment scripts Three-minute remarks you can adapt and read straight from the podium. Scripts
- Outreach materials Flyers, briefs, and social graphics to rally your neighbors before the vote. Print + social
- Know your rights What SC law does and doesn't allow, and what to say when you're recording in public. Legal
Upcoming events: show up.
The room is where it's decided. Here's where to be next.
Tiles by OpenFreeMap · OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap · Pins mark a city center, never a venue.
6 upcoming
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Council Chambers, Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center, 1101 North Oak Street, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
To speak during public comment, sign in in person before the meeting begins and state your name when called; no advance registration is required. Public comment on non-agenda items is taken at the end of the meeting, limited to 30 minutes total, with each speaker allowed up to 5 minutes (per City Code Sec. 2-43(b)(4)(g), recently amended in early 2026 to raise the per-speaker limit from 3 to 5 minutes). To confirm details or request accommodations, contact the City Clerk's Office (Jennifer Adkins) at (843) 918-1004, ideally at least 48 hours before the meeting.
Council meeting · Repeats monthly
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Benjamin M. Racusin Council Chambers, 1 Town Center Court, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
To speak during public comment you must sign up in advance by submitting the Town's Public Comment form to the Town Clerk: submit the online form no later than two hours before the meeting's start time, or complete a hard-copy form (provided at the meeting) and turn it in no later than 10 minutes before the start. Late forms are not accepted, and each recognized speaker is allowed up to three minutes.
Council meeting · Repeats monthly
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Dorothy K. Black Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, Lexington County Administration Building, 212 South Lake Drive, Lexington, SC 29072
To speak at a regular County Council meeting you must sign up in advance: contact the Clerk to County Council (803-785-8103 or countycouncil@lexingtoncounty.sc.gov) before the meeting and identify the subject you wish to address, so you can be placed on the agenda (the chairperson must approve). Public comment is taken at the end of the meeting and is limited to three minutes per speaker unless the chairperson grants more time. Confirm the exact sign-up deadline with the Clerk, since the codified rule (which lists "the Monday prior") predates the move of regular meetings to Tuesdays.
Council meeting · Repeats monthly
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Charleston City Hall, City Council Chamber, 80 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Sign up for the Citizens' Participation Period either in person at City Hall until 5:00 p.m. on the meeting day, or in advance by 12:00 p.m. (noon) the day before through the City's Public Meeting Portal at innovate.charleston-sc.gov/comments, by voicemail at 843-579-6313, or by mail to the Clerk of Council at 80 Broad Street; no account or registration is required. The Participation Period is limited to 30 minutes and to the first 30 speakers. The presiding officer sets each speaker's time limit at the meeting.
Council meeting · Repeats monthly
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Cheraw Town Hall, 200 Market Street, Cheraw, SC 29520
To speak at a Cheraw Town Council meeting you must get on the agenda in advance: contact the Town Manager or Town Clerk by 12:00 PM on the Friday before the regularly scheduled meeting and provide your name and a brief description of your item. Direct questions about Town Council meetings to Town Hall at 843-537-7283 or pnorris@cheraw.com. The town's official page does not publish a per-speaker time limit or a separate walk-up public-comment sign-up.
Council meeting · Repeats monthly
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Hartsville City Council Chambers (first floor), Hartsville City Hall, 100 East Carolina Avenue, Hartsville, SC 29550
At each regular Hartsville City Council meeting there is a Public Comments period open to any person, and no advance sign-up or pre-registration is required. When the Public Comments period is called, come forward, state your name and address for the record, and keep your remarks to the two-minute per-speaker limit. To instead be placed on the meeting agenda as a scheduled presenter, contact the City Clerk's Office at (843) 383-3018.
Council meeting · Repeats monthly
Past events (16)
- SEP 1 Pageland Town Council Pageland · Chesterfield County
- SEP 1 Anderson County Council Anderson · Anderson County
- SEP 1 West Columbia City Council West Columbia · Lexington County
- SEP 1 Walterboro City Council Walterboro · Colleton County
- SEP 1 Springdale Town Council Springdale · Lexington County
- SEP 1 Richland County Council Columbia · Richland County
- SEP 1 Horry County Council Conway · Horry County
- SEP 1 Greenville County Council Greenville · Greenville County
- SEP 1 Elgin Town Council Elgin · Kershaw County
- SEP 1 Darlington City Council Darlington · Darlington County
- SEP 1 Cayce City Council Cayce · Lexington County
- SEP 1 Camden City Council Camden · Kershaw County
- SEP 1 Columbia City Council Columbia · Richland County
- SEP 1 Kiawah Island Town Council Kiawah Island · Charleston County
- AUG 27 North Charleston City Council North Charleston · Charleston County
- AUG 25 Myrtle Beach City Council Myrtle Beach · Horry County
No meetings this day.
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From the blog
Time Is Running Out to Fix SC's Flock Regulation Bill
Inside the Lawsuit to Shut Down SLED's Unauthorized Surveillance Database
Flock Told the Patent Office One Thing. They Tell Your City Another.
H4675 Is the Strongest ALPR Bill South Carolina Has Ever Seen
How to Fight License Plate Surveillance in Your SC Community
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