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Texas Probes Flock Safety’s Licensing as Camera Network Aids Brown/MIT Manhunt

Flock’s renewed Texas credentials contrast with mounting questions about past compliance and expansive data sharing.

Overview

  • Texas DPS and state troopers confirmed an active investigation into whether Flock operated at points without required licenses, including an alleged lack of a private investigator license from 2019 to 2024 that drew a cease-and-desist.
  • DPS suspended Flock’s private security license in August over missing liability insurance, lifted the suspension on Nov. 12, and issued a new license on Dec. 4 valid through Sept. 30, 2026; the company called the lapse an administrative error.
  • Police used Flock’s AI-enabled searches to identify and track a gray Nissan tied to the Brown University and MIT killings, logging 14 sightings in Providence and tracing the car to a Boston rental facility, with features that worked even after a plate change.
  • Cities continue to rethink or end contracts over privacy and federal-access concerns, with Cambridge canceling its deal, Verona, Wisconsin voting not to renew, and officials citing records of cross-jurisdiction queries including federal searches.
  • Flock says local agencies control access, images are deleted after about 30 days, and audit trails exist, and it is tightening search requirements with a drop-down menu and case numbers as civil liberties groups push for stronger guardrails.