Flock implements new safeguards after license plate reader misuse by police officers
The short version: CBS 8 San Diego reports Flock is adding 'safeguards' after police were caught misusing ALPR data, but audits-after-the-fact don't undo the surveillance already baked into daily life.
Our Take
Credit to CBS 8 San Diego for digging into this: when the company selling the surveillance network is the one announcing its own 'safeguards,' that's a tell the misuse problem is real, not hypothetical. Flock doesn't roll out new guardrails because everything was working fine. It does it because officers got caught running plates for personal reasons, sharing access they shouldn't have, or using a tool sold as 'find stolen cars and Amber Alerts' for whatever they wanted.
That's the core issue with this whole industry: thousands of departments sign up, cameras go up on your street, and the policies governing who can search your movements are written and rewritten by the vendor after the fact, in response to bad press. Audits and 'new safeguards' are reactive. They don't change the fact that a camera has already logged where you drove, when, and how often, and that data exists whether or not anyone follows the rules this month.
Check our camera map to see what's logging your plate near home, work, or your kid's school, and if you want to push back on your local department's contract, our take-action resources walk you through it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of CBS 8 San Diego, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.