Flock announces changes amid backlash over its license plate reader network
The short version: WRDW News 12 reports Flock Safety is tweaking its ALPR network after public pushback, but cosmetic fixes don't address the core surveillance problem.
Our Take
WRDW News 12 flags something worth watching: Flock Safety is making changes after enough people got loud about what these cameras are actually doing. That's not nothing — companies don't adjust policy because they feel like it, they adjust because backlash costs them contracts, headlines, and city council votes. Credit to the WRDW team for putting this on record locally, where most of these fights actually happen.
But we've seen this pattern before. A company facing scrutiny announces "changes" — tighter data retention windows, a new transparency portal, some promise about audits — and the underlying architecture stays exactly the same: a nationwide, privately-run network of cameras logging every plate that passes, shared across thousands of agencies with minimal independent oversight. Tweaking the policy language doesn't un-build the database. It doesn't stop your daily movements from being tracked and stored indefinitely in a system no elected body outside the local level ever voted to create.
The real fix isn't a corporate press release, it's public pressure that doesn't let up once the news cycle moves on. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your route, and if you want to push back where it counts — city council, county commission, state legislature — start with our take-action guide.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WRDW News 12, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.