West Virginia lawmakers press Flock Safety for answers on camera data access and security
The short version: West Virginia lawmakers grilled a Flock Safety exec and walked away with more questions than answers about data security and access controls.
Our Take
Credit to WCHS-TV for covering a hearing that should be happening in every statehouse, not just Charleston. When a company's own government affairs rep can't give lawmakers straight answers about who can access license plate data or how long two-factor authentication has actually been "required," that's not a communications hiccup — that's a red flag about the vendor's internal controls over a nationwide surveillance network built from your daily driving patterns.
Del. Tristan Leavitt's frustration is exactly the right instinct. Flock's whole pitch to communities is "trust us, it's secure and it's only for serious crimes." But vague or evasive answers to basic security questions undercut that pitch every time, and they should make every city council and state legislature currently weighing a Flock contract pump the brakes until they get real documentation, not talking points.
This is also a reminder that oversight doesn't stop once a camera gets approved — lawmakers, journalists, and residents have to keep asking who's watching the watchers. If you want to see how many of these cameras are already running in your state, check our camera map, and if you'd rather your town ask these questions before signing a contract, our take-action page has the tools to push back.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WCHS-TV, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.