FedEx is the New Big Brother Watching Car Owners

Do you believe that every car in America should be continually monitored 24/7 with video surveillance? Probably not. However according to a recent Steve Lehto YouTube channel episode, our Civil Liberties related to car ownership and what we do and where we go are being chipped away by what would seem to be an unlikely source―FedEx, the same company that delivers 3.4 million packages a day (every day) with their vehicles to our homes in the U.S.

Mobile Camera Spying

Who needs an expensive satellite system to monitor where your car is (or has been) when there is an inexpensive way to do it by turning a trusted parcel carrier service into an Orwellian vehicle by strapping a spy camera onto their delivery vans and feeding the data to law enforcement agencies?!

That’s the message in today’s episode of the Steve Lehto YouTube channel where popular lawyer (not always an oxymoron) Steve Lehto delivers the latest news on how our personal vehicles are being monitored and what this means to our Civil Rights.

“We are living in a surveilled society. We are under surveillance all of the time, and it ain’t getting better…it’s getting worse,” states Steve Lehto about the topic recently posted in an article from news source Daily Mail titled “How your FedEx driver is helping cops spy on YOU.”

According to the Daily Mail article:

“FedEx is using AI-powered cameras installed on its trucks to help aid police investigations, a new report has revealed.

The popular postal firm has partnered with a $ 4 billion surveillance startup based in Georgia called Flock Safety, Forbes reported. 

Flock specializes in automated license plate recognition and video surveillance, and already has a fleet of around 40,000 cameras spanning 4,000 cities across 40 states. 

FedEx has teamed up with the company to monitor its facilities across the US, but under the deal it is also sharing its Flock surveillance feeds with law enforcement. And it is believed to be one of four multi-billion dollar private companies with this arrangement.”

The Legal Problem with Monitoring You and Your Car

While this practice by FedEx with Flock Safety is not so much that even more public surveillance is becoming part of our lives, but the question of whether a private company that is under no transparency restrictions can act like a governmental agency when it comes to our privacy and freedoms.

Follow along with the host as he gives his legal opinion of what this means for car owners and why this is a growing concern.

The Value of This Video

The value of this video is that the host makes some very good arguments about how that new tech used for what sounds like a reasonable use such as catching (or making it easier to catch) law offenders, so easily advances toward tech that targets the law-abiding as well.

Related article: The Car That Is Uncatchable by Today’s Police

In other words, it harkens a thought-provoking similarity to the famous quote:

“First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

—Martin Niemöller

That said, here is a very interesting video that bears your attention:

FedEx Trucks Will Be Spying On You For the Police

For additional articles related to the law and your car, here are three for your consideration:

• Call the Police If You Find This in a Used Car
• How Police Cars Really Compare to the Average Car
• Avoid Fines and Jail with This Speed Trap Evasion Radar Need to Know Info

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites  and Facebook for daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

COMING UP NEXT: 6 Super Reliable Used Cars Under $10,000

Image source: Deposit Photos