Flock Tightens Police Camera Search Rules as Surveillance Backlash Grows

Summary

On August 13, 2026, Flock said searches of location data from its nationwide network of 120,000 automatic license plate reader cameras will require a criminal case number, replacing an option introduced last year. The move follows a Washington Post investigation identifying 46 cases of officers accused of unauthorized use, including stalking or harassing current or former romantic partners. Flock will not verify case numbers, echoing a weakness the ACLU exposed when officers answered an earlier purpose prompt with generic terms and one Oregon department entered “hehehe” 20 times. An automated system, also optional last year, must now flag suspicious searches to administrators, but Flock disclosed neither its accuracy nor access for independent evaluators. Agencies are advised to retain data for seven days instead of 30, although they may overrule that recommendation, and can restrict outside departments’ searches by stated purpose, such as allowing kidnapping cases but excluding immigration enforcement.

The changes seek to curb abuse and recover contracts amid broad opposition. Tucker Carlson called Flock’s technology part of a “slave state”; NPR reported in February that at least 30 cities had dropped contracts within a year, while activist group DeFlock estimates more. Some states or municipalities are passing bans, while others are replacing Flock with Axon or Motorola; Flock says cancellations are small against its 5,000 contracted agencies. ACLU senior policy counsel Chad Marlow says the larger problem is warrantless searching without established suspicion and supports the incremental rules, but says accountability requires independent research access, which Flock has refused. CEO Garrett Langley told MIT Technology Review that losses mainly reflect misinformation that Flock uses facial recognition or sells data to commercial buyers, while the ACLU and other critics accuse Flock of repeatedly misleading city councils and decision-makers about its capabilities. Langley says Flock is shifting from optional tools to enforced guardrails; Marlow says the response remains inadequate.