El Paso Halts use of Flock Safety Cameras Over Privacy Concerns
The short version: El Paso pumped the brakes on Flock Safety ALPRs after privacy concerns surfaced, proving public pressure can actually pause a surveillance rollout.
Our Take
Credit to Denver7 for flagging this one: El Paso officials hitting pause on Flock Safety cameras over data and privacy concerns is exactly the kind of story that should get more airtime. Too often these ALPR contracts get rubber-stamped in a consent-agenda vote with zero public debate, and by the time residents realize their daily movements are being logged, the cameras are already bolted to the pole.
What makes this notable isn't that El Paso found some smoking gun of abuse — it's that elected officials actually stopped to ask basic questions: who sees this data, how long is it kept, and what happens when it's shared outside the city. Those are the same questions every city council should be asking before signing a Flock contract, not after. A pause isn't a win in itself, but it's a rare moment where scrutiny beat momentum.
If you live somewhere considering Flock cameras — or already blanketed in them — don't wait for your local news to do the digging. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action resources to push your own city council toward the kind of hard questions El Paso finally asked.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Denver7, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.