Fort Collins City Council voted to cut ties with Flock license plate readers
The short version: Fort Collins city council dropped Flock after residents pushed back on privacy grounds, proving public pressure can actually roll back ALPR surveillance.
Our Take
Credit to 9NEWS for covering a story that doesn't happen nearly often enough: a city council actually listening to residents and pulling the plug on Flock Safety cameras. Most of these fights end with officials shrugging and renewing the contract anyway. Fort Collins is a reminder that isn't inevitable.
What's notable here isn't just the vote, it's the reasoning. Residents raised the same concerns we hear everywhere Flock sets up shop: no meaningful oversight, data that can travel far beyond the town line, and a system installed with little public input in the first place. That the council is now unsure whether it'll shop for a different vendor tells you this was a genuine privacy objection, not just a budget line item getting cut.
Every city considering, renewing, or canceling an ALPR contract needs residents showing up and asking hard questions, because vendors count on nobody noticing until the cameras are already bolted to the poles. Check our map to see what's already been deployed near you, and if your town is debating a contract, our take-action page has what you need to make your case before the vote, not after.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of 9NEWS, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.