Flock Safety, a major supplier of surveillance technology to law enforcement agencies, announced enhanced safeguards designed to curtail police misuse of its extensive network of cameras, license plate readers, and drones. The company’s founder and chief executive, Garrett Langley, conceded that protective measures should have been implemented at an earlier stage.
The impetus for these changes stems from documented instances in which police officers employed Flock’s technology for personal purposes, including tracking individuals in romantic relationships and monitoring people who had committed no crimes. In response to public backlash, approximately 50 cities have severed ties with the company during the current period. The revisions include reducing data retention from 30 days to seven days and implementing automated systems to detect unusual search patterns and flag potentially improper uses of the technology.
Langley acknowledged his previous reluctance to impose restrictions on police access, stating he initially believed such decisions fell outside his purview as a private company executive. He has since aligned his views with privacy advocacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, endorsing their position that officers should require an active case number to access Flock’s database. Despite these concessions, critics argue the measures are insufficient; representatives from privacy groups characterize the updates as incremental and reversible, arguing that judicial warrants should be mandatory for certain database searches.
While acknowledging documented misuse by law enforcement, Langley contends that Flock functions as a visible target for broader public anxieties regarding surveillance and privacy. He argues that cities without access to the technology are effectively choosing to be less secure. The company continues to gain customers overall, reporting a ratio of seven new municipal clients for every city that discontinues service, with 16 jurisdictions recently returning to the platform following previous departures.
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