Overview
- President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that he “likes” Flock’s AI license‑plate cameras because they help law enforcement, marking his first clear public endorsement of the controversial technology.
- San Jose police fired an officer after investigators say he used his personal device to access Flock data and gave a relative the location of a domestic‑violence victim, and the department has submitted the case to California POST for decertification.
- Reporting and audits have uncovered dozens of alleged officer abuses of Flock searches, with multiple arrests, firings and internal probes in recent weeks that have prompted cities and counties to pause or end contracts.
- Flock has rolled out mandatory safeguards — required case codes for searches, an Audit Assistance tool to flag unusual queries and a reduced default data retention window from 30 to seven days — but questions remain about who can search historical records and what happens to retained data after contract termination.
- Legislative and federal action is accelerating: a Senate probe led by Sen. Josh Hawley and a bipartisan bill to withhold federal transportation funds from noncomplying states have been announced even as Reuters/Ipsos polling shows plurality public opposition to community deployment.