More than 100 cities and local governments across the US have reportedly turned off or dropped Flock cameras amid growing backlash.
The cameras have faced criticism over privacy concerns and how law enforcement can use the data they collect.
Fury over Flock cameras is growing nationwide as lawmakers raise new questions about just how much these AI-powered systems can see and who can access the data.
Sen. Josh Hawley is demanding answers from Flock Safety about its roughly 120,000-camera network, warning that recent allegations of police employees misusing data expose a "woeful lack of safeguards."
The scale of the system is drawing scrutiny from both Republicans and Democrats. Flock defends its technology, saying Americans deserve both privacy and safety — but many critics are calling it round-the-clock surveillance. @AmericaRpts@JacquiHeinrich@richedson
$Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers (ALPR) that scan vehicles and store data in a nationwide network. Tempe, Arizona, terminated its contract today due to privacy concerns and shut down all the cameras. Senator Josh Hawley is launching an investigation into the 120,000 cameras that record 20 billion vehicle sightings every month.
A Kentucky officer ran 2,048 Flock camera searches to track the mother of his child. No warrant. No probable cause. No judge ever saw it.
The Fourth Amendment protects Americans against unreasonable searches, and retracing where someone drove for five months is a search. And it’s why I take issue with surveillance networks like Flock.
https://t.co/hv5Wctzoqw
MORE FLOCK CAMERA CONTROVERSY: The Texas town of Pflugerville had a city council meeting about their 28 Flock cameras…turns out that not only was city data released NATIONWIDE, but 450 agencies were tapping into the city’s Flock camera system.
Only 80 agencies had city approval to do so.
Per the local police department, “an issue was discovered in the Flock operating system which permitted non-partner law enforcement agencies to access the City’s Flock data”.
In response the city has been putting black bags over the Flock cameras and last night declined a new $175,000 contract with the company.
h/t: @VinnyMartorano