Flock updates cameras following privacy and misuse concerns

Our Take

Credit to ABC's Jaclyn Lee and the 13News Now team for putting a spotlight on something we've been saying for a while: the pushback against Flock Safety isn't a fringe concern anymore, it's mainstream news. When a local network affiliate is running segments on "privacy and misuse concerns" tied to automatic license plate readers, that's a sign the public conversation is finally catching up to the scale of the problem.

Here's the thing about Flock "updating" its cameras or policies in response to criticism: it's a PR move, not a structural fix. The core issue was never a single bug or a rogue officer misusing the system — it's that thousands of these cameras are quietly logging where every car goes, building a searchable history of movement for anyone with database access, often with little transparency about who's looking, why, and for how long. Tweaking dashboards or adding an audit log doesn't change the fact that a private company is running a de facto tracking network for police departments across the country, frequently without meaningful public debate before installation.

If your town has these cameras, you probably didn't get a vote. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your streets, and head to our take-action page for concrete steps to push back at your next city council meeting.