Flock Safety Used HUNDREDS of Times to Stalk Georgia Mom
The short version: A Georgia mom's case shows how easily Flock Safety's ALPR network can be turned into a stalking tool by anyone with police access, not just 'bad actors.'
Our Take
The channel Flock Off lays out a story that should terrify anyone who's been told ALPR networks are only used to catch violent criminals: a Georgia mother says her ex-partner accessed Flock Safety camera data hundreds of times to track her movements. If accurate, this isn't a hypothetical misuse case privacy advocates dreamed up — it's the exact failure mode we've been warning about since these cameras started popping up on street corners nationwide.
Flock's whole pitch rests on the idea that access is restricted, logged, and audited so this kind of abuse gets caught fast. But logs only matter if someone is actually checking them, and audits after hundreds of queries is cold comfort to a woman who had to wonder how her ex always knew where she was. When the person with a badge and the person with a grudge are the same guy, the 'trust us' model of oversight collapses.
Credit to Flock Off for pushing this story into the open — cases like this rarely surface because departments have little incentive to publicize them. If you want to see how much of this surveillance infrastructure has already been installed near you, check our camera map, and if you think your city council should be asking harder questions before renewing a Flock contract, our take-action page has tools to help you push back.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock Off, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.