Flock Safety, which operates a nationwide network of surveillance cameras conducting approximately 20 billion license plate scans monthly, announced mandatory new oversight measures on Thursday following a series of scandals involving misuse by law enforcement personnel.
The company revealed that over 50 law enforcement officers have been accused or charged with abusing access to Flock’s tracking system, with documented cases including stalking of former partners. CEO Garrett Langley stated the changes represent a continuation of the company’s commitment to safety and privacy. Flock introduced a voluntary feature called Audit Assistance four months prior, which identifies suspicious activity for administrative review, but only approximately one-third of customers activated it. Under the new mandatory requirements, all remaining customers must enable this feature by the end of the year, with flagged behavior resulting in automatic user suspension pending review.
Additional modifications include allowing law enforcement agencies to restrict data shared with other jurisdictions to specific investigation types such as stolen vehicle or missing person cases, rather than providing unrestricted access to all scans. The company will also establish a default license plate scan retention period of seven days, reduced from the previous 30-day standard, though agencies retain authority to extend retention for active investigations. These changes partially address longstanding concerns that Flock’s system facilitated targeting of immigrants and individuals traveling to obtain abortions across state lines, practices that occasionally violated state and local regulations.
Privacy advocates express skepticism regarding the adequacy of these safeguards. Chris Gilliard, author of a forthcoming book on surveillance, contended that mass surveillance systems cannot be reconciled with a free society regardless of implemented guardrails. Robert Frommer, senior attorney at the Institute of Justice representing plaintiffs in federal litigation against warrantless license plate reader use, characterized the measures as insufficient self-regulation by police departments.
The announcement follows mounting public opposition to Flock’s technology, including Amazon Ring’s cancellation of plans to integrate it into doorbell cameras and over 80 municipalities either terminating or reconsidering their contracts with the company.
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