Flock AI Is Always Watching — And Cities Are Pushing Back

Our Take

Credit to David Linthicum for laying out what we've been tracking for a while: the gap between Flock's pitch — recover stolen cars, catch the bad guy — and the reality of a network that logs every plate, every driver, every trip, regardless of whether anyone's done anything wrong. When city councils start pausing contracts and demanding rewritten policies, that's not an accident. It's what happens when officials actually read the data retention terms and realize they've built a permanent movement-tracking system with a press release attached.

The "not a one-sided story" framing is fair, and we'd encourage readers to watch the whole thing rather than take our word for it. But the burden of proof should sit with the agencies deploying this tech, not with the residents asking basic questions about audit logs, data sharing with ICE and out-of-state police, and how long a scan of your plate sits in a database you'll never see. Pilot programs have a way of becoming permanent infrastructure once the cameras are bolted to the pole.

If this video has you wondering whether there's a Flock camera on your own street, check our camera map to see what's already been documented near you, and if you want to push back locally the way some of these cities are, our take-action page has the tools to start that fight at your next council meeting.