DeFlock Metro Detroit exists to achieve the lawful removal and nonrenewal of covered mass-surveillance systems.
The way we behave matters to whether residents and officials take that goal seriously.
When you participate through or represent DeFlock Metro Detroit, follow these standards.
Keep it lawful and peaceful.
No vandalism.
No damaging, disabling, covering, turning, disconnecting, opening or interfering with cameras or related equipment.
No jamming.
No trespassing.
No hacking.
No bypassing credentials or access controls.
No threats.
No harassment.
No obstruction.
Our strategy is to make the government remove the system through lawful civic action.
Leave the cameras alone.
Do not attach stickers, magnets, signs or other materials to cameras, poles, cabinets or related infrastructure without clear lawful permission.
Do not climb equipment or enter restricted areas to get a better photograph.
A nearby lawful sign is more useful than creating an allegation that we interfered with government equipment.
Map from lawful public places.
Follow DeFlock’s current official mapping rules.
Remote research can help generate leads, but if DeFlock requires physical verification before a camera is added or updated, follow that requirement.
Safety comes before a better photograph.
If a location is unsafe to verify, skip it.
Do not track people.
We oppose mass tracking.
Do not create dossiers on private residents, officers, government employees, their families, personal vehicles or homes.
Do not follow individuals.
Do not publish unrelated personal information.
Research public decisions, contracts, systems and official conduct relevant to the campaign.
Respect privacy while advocating for privacy.
Do not dox people.
Do not publish private phone numbers, home addresses, family information or unrelated personal details merely because you found them.
Collect the minimum information needed for the campaign task.
Criticize decisions, systems and claims.
Do not turn disagreement into personal hostility.
Police officers, public officials, government staff, vendors, residents and other participants are people and institutions to engage or scrutinize, not enemies.
Challenge a contract.
Challenge a vote.
Challenge a claim.
Do not drag someone’s family or private life into it.
No threats or intimidation.
Do not threaten officials, workers, police, vendors, residents or other volunteers.
Do not use weapons, intimidation or implied violence as campaign tactics.
Do not confront installers or workers doing their jobs.
No impersonation or fake support.
Do not impersonate officials, journalists, vendors, organizations or other people.
Do not invent supporters.
Do not create fake local accounts to make the campaign look larger.
Do not manufacture comments, signatures or public-record requests.
Real support is worth more than fake numbers.
Do not spam government agencies.
Public records are a research tool, not a punishment mechanism.
Check whether the record already exists.
Check whether somebody in the group already requested it.
Use focused requests that fill a real gap.
Do not coordinate duplicate FOIA requests merely to create burden.
The same applies to public comments and emails. Genuine participation is better than identical message floods.
Be accurate about evidence.
Do not knowingly make false claims.
Do not turn a lead into a fact.
Do not call every camera Flock.
Do not say a product uses facial recognition if the evidence says otherwise.
Do not say a court held something unconstitutional when it did not.
Do not misleadingly edit a document, image or quote.
If you do not know, say:
I don’t know yet.
That is a credible answer.
Correct important mistakes.
If you discover that something you shared through the campaign was materially wrong, help correct it.
Credibility matters more than defending a bad claim because it was ours.
Do not pretend to have authority you do not have.
Being a member or volunteer does not automatically make you an official spokesperson, fundraiser, contract signer or representative authorized to make commitments for the organization.
Ordinary wording is enough:
I volunteer with DeFlock Metro Detroit.
or:
I’m helping with the local DeFlock effort in Redford.
Keep unrelated politics out of the campaign.
We are deliberately nonpartisan.
Members can have political beliefs. Of course they can.
Do not turn DeFlock Metro Detroit activity into campaigning for unrelated candidates, parties or causes.
People who disagree about everything else can cooperate on surveillance.
Disagreement is allowed.
Members do not have to think alike.
Challenge ideas and evidence without harassment, discrimination or personal abuse.
A privacy group that cannot tolerate questions about its own claims has a problem.
Public meetings are not disruption contests.
Follow lawful meeting rules.
Use public comment.
Bring signs or materials where permitted.
Do not prevent the meeting from continuing.
Do not shout people down because they disagree.
Our strongest reputation is:
informed, calm, prepared and difficult to dismiss.
If police interact with you during campaign activity
Stay calm.
Do not physically resist or escalate.
If you believe something improper happened, document it lawfully and deal with it through the appropriate process afterward.
The roadside is not where we litigate constitutional law.
If you are unsure, ask.
If an action feels like it might cross the line from advocacy into interference, harassment, deception or unsafe behavior, do not improvise.
Ask first.
The short version
Be lawful. Be peaceful. Leave the cameras alone. Protect people’s privacy. Bring evidence. Tell the truth. Treat people like people.
That is how we represent DeFlock Metro Detroit.