Flock Offered to Sell a City 5 Years of Their Own Data
The short version: Business Reform surfaces an apparent contradiction: Flock says data is deleted in days, yet reportedly pitched a city a 5-year archive of its own ALPR data.
Our Take
Flock Safety's pitch to cities has always rested on two reassurances: the data belongs to you, the customer, and it disappears after a short retention window—usually 7 to 30 days. Business Reform's video raises a pointed question: if both of those things are true, why would Flock reportedly offer a city the chance to buy back five years of its own scans? You can't sell what's already been deleted, and you shouldn't need to buy back something you already own.
This isn't just a technical footnote. It goes to the heart of how these networks are marketed to skeptical city councils and worried residents. 'Short retention' and 'you control it' are the talking points that get contracts signed and public records requests waved off. If the underlying reality is longer retention, less deletion, or murkier ownership than advertised, every city that approved a Flock deployment based on those assurances deserves a straight answer, not a sales pitch.
Credit to Business Reform for digging into the gap between what Flock says and what it apparently does in practice. We'd encourage you to watch the full video, then check our camera map to see what's tracking you locally, and visit our take-action page to push your city for real answers on retention and ownership before the next contract renewal.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Business Reform, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.