The Emory Wheel Since 1919
Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 107, Issue 8
Printed every other Wednesday
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
DeFlock Emory protests against campus surveillance over safety concerns
Sasha Emmerich/Image Editor
By Siya Kumar and Jacob Muscolino Managing Editors A black piece of paper with a green camera outline greets students at the entrance of various buildings across Emory University’s campus: “You are being tracked.” The piece of paper is a flyer, part of the DeFlock Emory Coalition’s efforts to demand Emory’s removal of Flock Safety cameras across campus. The coalition is made up of student and faculty members and consists of campus groups such as EmoryUnite!, Emory National Lawyers Guild, Emory Students for Justice in Palestine, Emory’s chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Sunrise Emory and Emory Students for Socialism (SFS). For the past months, University community members have protested the presence of Flock Safety cameras on campus. Flock Safety is a security and technology company that partners with local, state and federal governments to provide artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services such as automated license plate readers (LPR). Several cities across the United States ended their partnerships with Flock Safety amid concerns that the company could share the data it collects with agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Although federal agencies cannot directly access information from the Flock Safety cameras, they can request the data that the cameras collect from local government agencies. “They can be accessed by immigration enforcement,” DeFlock Emory member Tony Torres (29C) said. “It’s a cause of concern for the safety for our students on campus.” According to the DeFlock Emory Coalition, the University has shared Flock cameras’ data with the
Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, the Kennesaw State University (Ga.) Police Department and the Hiram Police Department. DeFlock Emory accessed this information through open records requests publicly available online. In a statement to The Emory Wheel, Assistant Vice President of University Communications Laura Diamond said that only sworn Emory Police Department (EPD) officers have access to Emory’s LPR information. Diamond directed the Wheel to a Jan. 6 statement from Flock Safety denying any partnership with ICE. The company stated that any access to Flock data would need to be explicitly granted by the customer and “comply with applicable law.” “Emory does not share footage with the federal government unless law enforcement officials present a valid criminal warrant or specific court order issued by a federal judge,” an Emory spokesperson told Atlanta News First. In another statement, Diamond told the Wheel that the Office of Critical Emergency Preparedness and Response met with community members to assess concerns regarding Flock LPRs on campus. Diamond said EPD is actively investigating these anxieties. “During the meeting, EPD explained policies for accessing and sharing information from LPRs,” Diamond wrote. “Based on community feedback, EPD is taking additional steps to further review how data is shared.” DeFlock Emory member Maya Vizuete (28C) and community members have identified at least 10 cameras on campus with Flock Safety’s logo. “People are concerned that their data is not safe,” Vizuete said. “We have seen Flock being used to target protesters, to target migrants.” Diamond said that Flock cameras have been on the Atlanta campus
since 2024 to help EPD “investigate threat cases and criminal trespass issues.” Vizuete said that the University has not shared enough information with students and faculty about the use of Flock cameras. According to Vizuete, the University denied the DeFlock Emory Coalition’s request for information about the cameras. The coalition delivered a petition to the University administration on April 10, demanding that Emory end its relationship with Flock Safety, remove all automatic license plate readers from campus and establish a community-led, transparent review of Emory’s current surveillance practices. According to Torres, the petition has just over 1,000 signatures. For Torres, the use of Flock cameras on campus is “unnecessary” due to the presence of regular security cameras. “Emory hasn’t been really transparent with their information sharing,” Torres said. “The major issue, too, is that they didn't come to the community about putting these Flock cameras up in the first place.” Emory University Senate PastPresident and Professor of Philosophy Noëlle McAfee said that with recent security issues on campus, there is a “value in surveillance.” “No one’s intending to make this a police state, but that’s the safest place,” McAfee said. McAfee added that the absence of permanent University leadership has worsened the security and communication issues on campus. “We don’t have a permanent president who can weigh these different concerns and make a decision,” McAfee said. Young Democrats of Emory Treasurer Raleigh Maxwell (28C) mentioned other security protocols, such as requiring EmoryCards for building access, as examples of transparent security practices on campus. “I don’t think that Emory partnering with Flock Safety makes Emory
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students feel safer,” Maxwell said. Maxwell also said that members of the DeFlock Emory Coalition have been in communication with the University to prevent ICE from accessing data collected by the Flock cameras. “It’s scary because if Emory is willing to share this, if they’re willing to roll back all the [Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion] protections, where is the line when Emory does not cooperate with this administration because it’s seeming to increasingly harm students,” Maxwell said.
— Contact Siya Kumar at siya.kumar@emory.edu and Jacob Muscolino at jake.muscolino@emory.edu
Sage Buchris/Photo Editor
Emory University first installed Flock Safety cameras in 2024.
Sage Buchris/Photo Editor
Community members have criticized privacy issues surrounding data collected by Flock Safety cameras.
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