Flock CEO discusses privacy, data sharing and regulation

Our Take

NBC News sat down with Flock Safety's CEO for a rare on-camera moment where the company gets to explain itself in its own words — privacy, data sharing, regulation, the whole pitch. Credit to NBC for getting a Flock executive in front of a camera at all; these companies usually prefer to let police departments do the talking. But interviews like this tend to be long on reassurance and short on specifics: how long is plate data actually retained, which agencies get federal access, and what happens when ICE or a random out-of-state department pulls your travel history without a warrant.

That's the pattern with ALPR companies generally. They talk about solving crimes and reuniting missing kids, and sure, that happens. What doesn't get airtime is the default posture of these networks: every plate, every car, every trip, logged and shared across thousands of agencies with minimal oversight and no real opt-out for drivers. A CEO saying the right words about 'privacy' and 'regulation' on national TV doesn't change what the cameras on your street are actually doing right now.

If you want to know whether this conversation is happening above your own driveway, check our camera map and see how many Flock readers are already logging your plate. If you'd rather do something about it, our take-action page has steps for pushing back at the city council level, where these contracts actually get decided.