Proposed Flock cameras at 6 sites raises privacy fears, data misuse concerns in Kentucky
The short version: Local 12 reports Kenton County, Kentucky officials are debating six proposed Flock ALPR sites amid resident pushback over privacy and data misuse.
Our Take
Credit to Local 12 for getting Kenton County leaders on camera as they weigh whether six new Flock Safety reader sites are worth the tradeoff. This is the pattern we see in county after county: a vendor pitch framed around stolen cars and Amber Alerts, followed by a quieter rollout of a system that logs every passing driver's plate, location, and timestamp whether or not they're suspected of anything.
The "data misuse" fear residents are raising in this story isn't hypothetical. Flock's network ships plate scans into a shared pool that other agencies, and in some cases federal immigration or out-of-state investigators, can query without a warrant touching your county. Once a local government says yes to a handful of cameras, it has effectively opted into a surveillance system it doesn't fully control and can't easily audit. Six sites rarely stays six sites, and the public record requests that would let residents check how the data's actually being used are often slow-walked or denied outright.
If you're in Kenton County or anywhere nearby, this is the moment to show up to the meetings before the contract is signed, not after. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action guide to push your local officials for transparency on data sharing, retention limits, and an actual opt-out plan.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of LOCAL 12, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.