Flock’s new safeguards leave surveillance loopholes
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- Flock announced new platform safeguards requiring officers to enter criminal case numbers before running searches, aiming to prevent illegitimate use such as stalking.
- Flock confirmed to MIT Technology Review that it does not verify the accuracy of case numbers entered by officers, leaving open the possibility of fabricated justifications for searches.
- Flock operates a network of around 120,000 automatic license plate readers across the U.S., enabling cross-jurisdictional data access and long-term storage despite saying 90% of searches occur within a week of an incident.
- Flock recently reduced its recommended data retention period to seven days, but allows law enforcement agencies to retain data for months or years based on local policies.
- ACLU senior policy counsel Chad Marlow stated that the most acceptable Flock contract would be one never signed, arguing legal limits—not company guidelines—are the proper way to constrain surveillance.
- Flock CEO Garrett Langley said he will 'probably always have a different view than the ACLU,' underscoring the company’s stance on balancing crime-solving capabilities with civil liberties.
Why it matters: Flock’s self-imposed rules leave critical gaps in accountability, allowing continued potential abuse while preserving its business model built on expansive data collection. Without external legal constraints, police departments can still exploit the system for mass surveillance under minimal oversight, undermining public trust and civil rights protections.
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