Flock Safety Announces New Privacy Safeguards
Flock Safety, the police tech company that tracks Americans’ vehicle movements through a network of cameras, announced Thursday several new safeguards for its products.
The company will reduce its default movement-data retention period from one month to one week. Officers seeking to keep data longer will have to enter a case number. Flock also plans to fully deploy Audit Assistance, a system it began testing earlier this year that locks users out when their searches show “abnormal activity.”
A spokesperson said that the changes aim to address privacy concerns and officer abuse, which have led some cities to cancel Flock contracts amid a national wave of camera vandalism. The ACLU, a longtime Flock critic, called the reforms minor.
Flock is best known for its nationwide network of Automatic License Plate Readers, pole-mounted cameras that record vehicles’ license plate numbers, make and model, location and travel time, creating a massive database of movements.
Police say the technology helps track suspects and saves hours, but privacy advocates say it creates a sweeping dragnet and has been used to stalk people. Agencies do not need warrants to access travel data and can share it locally, statewide or nationwide.
