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Flock is a private company valued at $8.4 billion. Its cameras are spreading fast. What makes them different is that they are all connected, forming one vast, searchable national network. Most people never learned their own town signed up.

This is not hypothetical. A Texas officer used Flock cameras to track a woman across state lines, suspected of self-managing an abortion. Officers around the country have abused their access to track romantic partners. Some were disciplined or fired.

Los Angeles and Dayton, Ohio recently suspended their Flock contracts to keep immigration authorities from reaching the camera data. Thirteen states now require audits of these systems to catch officers who abuse them. The rules are still catching up.