Brian Merchant, reporting for Blood in the Machine, notes that individuals throughout the United States are tearing down and damaging Flock surveillance cameras, fueled by escalating public outrage that the license plate readers assist U.S. immigration officials and deportations.

Flock is a surveillance startup based in Atlanta that was valued at $7.5 billion last year and produces license plate readers. It has been criticized for granting federal authorities access to its extensive network of nationwide license plate readers and databases at a time when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increasingly depends on data for community raids as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

Flock cameras enable authorities to monitor individuals’ movements by capturing images of their license plates from a multitude of cameras spread across the United States. Flock asserts that it does not share data directly with ICE, but reports indicate that local police have provided federal authorities with their own access to Flock’s cameras and databases.

While various communities are urging their municipalities to terminate contracts with Flock, others are taking action independently.

Merchant highlights occurrences of damage to Flock cameras in La Mesa, California, mere weeks after the city council agreed to extend the deployment of Flock cameras in the city, notwithstanding a decisive majority of participants advocating for their removal. A local report mentioned significant opposition to the surveillance technology, with residents expressing privacy concerns.

Instances of vandalism have been reported from California and Connecticut to Illinois and Virginia. In Oregon, six license plate-reading cameras mounted on poles were severed, and at least one was spray-painted. A message left at the base of the cut poles read, “Hahaha get wrecked ya surveilling fucks,” according to Merchant.

As per DeFlock, a project focused on mapping license plate readers, nearly 80,000 cameras exist across the United States. Numerous cities have thus far rejected Flock’s cameras, and some police departments have blocked federal authorities from utilizing their resources.

A spokesperson from Flock did not specify, when contacted by TechCrunch, whether the company monitors how many cameras have been damaged since their installation.