Flock Safety faces growing bipartisan backlash over surveillance
Flock CEO calls for 'compromise' as surveillance company faces growing backlash
As reported by TechCrunch and the Washington Post, Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley has been making media appearances urging a middle ground between privacy and public safety, even as his company confronts mounting criticism from both political parties over its nationwide network of more than 120,000 automated license plate reader cameras.
The Washington Post documented 46 instances of police officers accused of misusing Flock's technology for personal purposes, including tracking spouses and former partners. In Missouri's St. Charles County, a police department said it was removing Flock cameras after a civilian employee exploited the system. Alabama legislators are weighing new restrictions or a potential ban on the state's 2,800 Flock cameras.
Criticism spans the political spectrum. Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed charged his opponent with endorsing widespread Flock deployment. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called for an end to AI mass surveillance and Flock specifically. Three House Republicans introduced legislation barring federal purchases of automated license plate recognition systems, explicitly naming Flock Safety cameras.
In response, Flock cut its default data retention window from 30 days to seven and now mandates case codes for data queries. However, both safeguards can be bypassed through an "Evidence Mode" toggle. The ACLU characterized the changes as potentially positive but cautioned that real reform hinges on how Evidence Mode actually functions.
Langley conceded that surveillance technology currently operates without regulation or accountability and urged states to criminalize unauthorized use of Flock data.