Flock Safety updating camera reader privacy policies
The short version: KATV reports Flock Safety is adding 'guardrails' on police use of its ALPR network after public backlash — but self-imposed rules aren't the same as enforceable law.
Our Take
When a surveillance company starts writing its own rulebook, that's usually a sign the pressure campaign is working. KATV's report on Flock Safety tightening its privacy policies is a tacit admission that the pushback from residents, journalists, and civil liberties groups over unchecked ALPR access has landed. Credit to KATVchannel7 for putting this on the record.
But let's be clear-eyed about what a corporate policy update actually is: a promise, not a law. Flock can revise its own terms of service whenever it wants, and it can quietly revise them back. There's no independent audit, no public vote, and no guarantee that every police department plugged into the network is even following the current rules, let alone the new ones. Self-regulation from a company whose entire business model depends on maximizing camera deployment and data-sharing agreements deserves skepticism, not applause.
Real accountability comes from binding local ordinances, public audit logs, and communities that know exactly where these cameras are pointed. Check our map to see what's already watching your streets, and if you want to push for actual enforceable limits instead of PR guardrails, visit our take-action page.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KATVchannel7, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.