Flock camera scandals prompt company to make changes
The short version: USA Today reports Flock Safety is rolling out an update to curb officer misuse, but a software patch doesn't fix the core surveillance problem.
Our Take
USA TODAY's report lays out something we've been saying for a while: Flock Safety only tightens the screws after it gets caught. The pattern is familiar — a scandal breaks, cops are caught running plates for personal reasons or sharing data outside policy, and the company responds with a software update rather than a rethink of whether this network should exist at all.
An audit trail or stricter login flow might catch the sloppiest abuse, but it does nothing about the thousands of cameras already logging every car that passes, feeding a searchable history of where you've been. The problem was never just "bad actors" misusing the system — it's that the system makes mass tracking the default setting for local police departments, with minimal public input before the cameras go up.
Credit to USA TODAY for keeping this story in front of a national audience. If you want to see how close this surveillance net is to your own neighborhood, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for the next scandal to force a fix, our take-action page has steps for pushing back locally.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of USA TODAY, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.