TL;DR: A leaked internal memo from Flock Safety revealed plans to expand its AI-powered license plate reader network into facial recognition and social media scraping, triggering privacy backlash from civil liberties groups. The company defends the features as crime-solving tools, but critics warn of unchecked surveillance creep.
Flock CEO Leak Sparks Surveillance Backlash
Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based maker of solar-powered license plate cameras, has long marketed itself as a “neutral” crime-fighting tool. But a leaked memo from CEO Garrett Langston—obtained by *The Intercept*—shows the company is quietly building a “person-level intelligence” layer, including facial matching and cross-referencing with public social media posts. The backlash was immediate: city councils in three states have paused new contracts, and the ACLU filed a FOIA request for all Flock data-sharing agreements.
Feature highlights: The current Flock system captures 24/7 plate data, vehicle color, make, and unique “tamper” flags (e.g., missing plates). Its new “Person Insights” beta adds face vectors from existing camera feeds, plus a “social graph” that links plates to social media check-ins via public APIs. The dashboard now offers real-time alerts for “persons of interest” and a 30-day searchable history. However, there’s no opt-out for private citizens, and retention defaults to 60 days—unless local police request longer.
Comparisons: Compared to rival Motorola’s Vigilant Solutions, Flock is more aggressive on AI but less transparent on data sharing. Vigilant requires a court order for facial search; Flock’s leaked memo suggests “predictive lead scoring” without judicial oversight. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Ring partners share video only with explicit consent, whereas Flock’s terms allow “broad” third-party sharing with “vetted” agencies—a phrase critics call a loophole.
Call-to-action: If you’re a privacy-conscious consumer, demand your city council publish a data-use audit before renewing any Flock contract. For homeowners, ask your HOA if Flock cameras are installed—and request a written ban on facial recognition. To voice your concern, sign the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s petition to require a warrant for all Flock searches, and email your mayor with the subject line “No surveillance without consent.”
FAQ
Q: Does Flock’s new feature store my face if I’m just walking by?
A: Yes—if you appear in a camera’s field of view, a face vector is created and retained for up to 60 days, even if you’re not a suspect.
Q: Can I request my data be deleted from Flock?
A: You can submit a privacy request via their website, but they only guarantee deletion for verified residents of partner municipalities—others are reviewed case-by-case.
Q: Is Flock’s social media scraping legal under GDPR or CCPA?
A: Under CCPA, you can opt out of “sale” of your data, but Flock claims scraping public posts is “fair use.” GDPR applies only to EU residents, and Flock has no EU operations—so U.S. users have no default protection.