Flock Said This, Then Did That, GTFOH

Our Take

GTFOH Loudon County is doing the unglamorous work of holding Flock Safety to its own words. The line "we don't own your data, the agency does" sounds reassuring in a press release, but as the video lays out, the daylight between what Flock says publicly and what its contracts, defaults, and data-sharing practices actually allow is exactly the kind of gap that lets mass surveillance infrastructure expand with minimal accountability.

This distinction — who legally "owns" the data versus who can access, query, or share it — isn't a technicality. It's the whole ballgame. Flock has built a nationwide network of ALPR cameras by telling local agencies and residents that oversight stays local, even as plate reads flow into a searchable system that can be tapped by outside agencies far beyond the county that installed the camera. When a company's own trust officer gets quoted and the receipts don't line up, that's not a gotcha for its own sake — it's evidence for the public record.

We appreciate creators doing this kind of local accountability journalism, because it's usually county-by-county organizing that forces transparency, not corporate goodwill. If you want to see what's watching your own streets, check our camera map, and if your city council hasn't had this conversation yet, our take-action page has what you need to start it.