Flock tightens rules after surveillance backlash

Flock, a police technology company, announced on August 13, 2026 that it will require officers to enter a criminal case number before searching its nationwide network of 120,000 license plate cameras. The change is part of a broader set of new rules aimed at curbing officer misuse and addressing a growing backlash over mass surveillance.

The new requirement is designed to prevent officers from using Flock's cameras to stalk or harass current or former romantic partners. A Washington Post investigation found 46 cases in which officers were accused of using the cameras for unauthorized purposes such as stalking. The case number feature was introduced as an option last year but is now mandatory, though Flock will not verify the numbers, leaving room for circumvention.

Flock is also expanding an automatic auditing system that flags suspicious officer search activity to administrators. This feature was optional last year but is now required. The company has not shared details on the auditing tool's accuracy or allowed independent evaluation. Civil liberties groups have long called for such safeguards, but critics note that officers have previously entered generic reasons like "investigation" or even "hehehe" 20 times at one Oregon department when prompted for a search justification.

Beyond officer abuse, Flock is addressing concerns about data retention and cross-department searches. The company now recommends agencies hold onto data for seven days instead of 30, though they can override this. Departments can also restrict other agencies' searches of their camera data to specific stated reasons, such as allowing kidnapping investigations but not immigration enforcement. These safeguards depend on officers accurately reporting their search purposes.

The changes come amid mounting pressure. Tucker Carlson has called the technology a contributor to a "slave state." NPR reported in February that at least 30 cities dropped Flock contracts in the previous year, while activist group DeFlock puts the number higher. Flock says cancellations represent a small fraction of its 5,000 contracted agencies. Some states and municipalities are banning license plate readers or switching to competitors Axon and Motorola.

ACLU senior policy counsel Chad Marlow says the backlash stems from the sheer scale of surveillance, not just individual abuses. "In America, you only get to investigate someone if you think they've done something wrong," Marlow said, adding that searching plate reader data requires no warrant. Flock CEO Garrett Langley attributes lost customers to "misinformation," claiming people falsely believe Flock does facial recognition or sells data. Marlow says the new rules are small and incremental, and judging their effectiveness would require Flock to open its systems to independent researchers for the first time.