Overview
- Florida’s transportation department revoked permits for license‑plate readers on state highways on Sept. 3, and Texas has ordered a pause on state funding for Flock cameras as local governments across the country disable or cancel contracts.
- Reporting and audits have documented dozens of alleged improper searches by officers — including tracking ex‑partners and monitoring private contacts — leading to internal probes, resignations and criminal charges in Georgia and other states.
- Flock Safety has announced concrete product and policy changes such as cutting default data retention from 30 days to seven days, requiring abnormal‑use detection and automated lockouts, and adding case‑code or audit controls for searches.
- Cities that drop Flock face a likely replacement problem because other vendors including Rekor, Axon and Motorola sell similar automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) systems that also create searchable vehicle‑movement records.
- The controversy has become a campaign and congressional issue, with senators probing Flock’s data practices and candidates proposing bans or funding limits, while the company stresses crime‑solving benefits from its roughly 120,000‑camera network.