{"id":2644504,"date":"2026-08-13T15:49:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flock-ceo-outlines-changes-after-uproar-over-surveillance-network\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T15:53:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T19:53:36","slug":"flock-ceo-outlines-changes-after-uproar-over-surveillance-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flock-ceo-outlines-changes-after-uproar-over-surveillance-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Flock CEO outlines changes after uproar over &#8216;surveillance&#8217; network"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflock-ceo-outlines-changes-after-uproar-over-surveillance-network%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2644504&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley announced several policy changes to address concerns over the company&#8217;s widespread license plate reader system, which has been criticized for potential privacy violations and creating a surveillance state. The system includes over 120,000 cameras across 49 states, capturing digital fingerprints of passing vehicles and allowing data sharing among law enforcement and government agencies. Critics have raised alarms about privacy rights and Fourth Amendment violations, especially as data can be retained and accessed without warrants.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Flock will now reduce its default data retention period from 30 days to seven days, though agencies can set their own retention policies and retain data for investigations. Evidence Mode will be introduced, requiring a case number for searches, which will be preserved longer if necessary. Officers will also need to label searches with specific case and offense codes, and all searches will be reviewed for abuse.<\/p>\n<p>Flock emphasizes that law enforcement owns the data collected and that they are taking steps to improve transparency and prevent misuse,including mandatory case codes and stricter search protocols. Though, civil rights advocates, including the ACLU, remain critical, accusing the company of prioritizing public relations over tackling systemic privacy issues and warning that the system remains a significant civil liberties threat due to its potential for mass surveillance driven by corporate profits.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley unveiled several changes on Thursday to the company\u2019s nationwide network of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-sued-over-proliferation-of-license-plate-reading-cameras\/\" title=\"Legal action against Illinois for excessive use of license plate reader cameras\">automatic license plate readers<\/a> used by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/police-and-law-enforcement\/\">police<\/a>, amid accusations that the sprawling system creates a surveillance state that violates constitutional rights. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 6,000 municipalities have contracts with Flock, with over 120,000 cameras active across 49 states, according to the company. Unlike red light cameras, which are triggered by a violation,\u00a0Flock ALPRS captures a digital fingerprint of every passing vehicle. Police agencies can share data across state lines with other law enforcement departments, as well as with government agencies. The system has sparked questions about long-term tracking and privacy, in addition to possible infringement of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fourth-amendment\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"3635\">Fourth Amendment rights<\/a> for information obtained without a warrant or court order. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4686592\/flock-ceo-outlines-policy-changes-after-uproar-over-surveillance-network\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Flock CEO outlines policy changes after uproar over \u2018surveillance\u2019 network<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/4686165\/georgia-police-officers-arrested-flock-camera-stalking\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Three former Georgia police officers charged with using Flock cameras for stalking<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4686087\/white-house-private-company-cybersecurity-foreign-threats-phishing-ransomware\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>White House deploys private companies to help crack down on cybersecurity breaches<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As questions build over who has access to the ALPRS data and how it is used, Langley this week said his company will be making several changes aimed at enhancing transparency and protecting against abuse. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Data collected by ALPRs is retained by Flock for 30 days before deletion. Under the new policy,\u00a0Flock will now reduce its default data retention period to seven days. Law enforcement agencies that contract with Flock can still set their own data retention schedules and choose whether or not to share ALPR data with other agencies, including the federal government. Data from cameras police or federal authorities are using as part of an investigation are not deleted. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flock said it is launching Evidence Mode for cases that could take longer than seven days. Flock will now change its default mode to require a search be \u201ctied to a case number,\u201d allowing the data to be preserved instead of deleted in the company\u2019s database after seven days. Agencies contracting with Flock still hold control over whether to adopt the company\u2019s standard or use their own timeline. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is this balance of privacy and safety, which is we don\u2019t solve every crime in America, but we want privacy,\u201d Langley said during <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/flock-ceo-says-goal-isnt-a-dystopian-future-12316078\">an interview<\/a> with <em>Newsweek<\/em>. \u00a0\u201cAnd that\u2019s the trade-off we\u2019re willing to make.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, Flock will start requiring a criminal case number to allow searches. Officers will be required to label every search with a code and automatically review all searches for \u201cabnormal activity,\u201d a previously voluntary feature. Law enforcement personnel will have to enter a specific case code tied to the investigation they are working on, and input the type of offense, meaning every vehicle search will require a reason. The changes are aimed at salving controversy that erupted over multiple officers who abused the system to stalk exes, among other issues. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have an obligation to establish a precedent,\u201d Langley said.\u00a0\u201cAnd so for something like that, we require now the case code, and we got that one wrong. We should have required it out of the gate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs some of our fiercest critics have acknowledged, why not just mandate a case code?\u201d he conceded. \u201cDon\u2019t give a reason, give a case code, criminal investigation code.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flock does not own the vehicle data, as law enforcement owns the data collected in its jurisdiction under its contractual agreements with the company.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Civil rights advocates continued to pummel Flock over allegations it is distributing \u201ca mass government surveillance product\u201d after the company announced policy changes Thursday. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4682411\/trump-threatens-think-tank-lawsuit-national-guard-report\/\">TRUMP THREATENS THINK TANK WITH LAWSUIT OVER DISAGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL GUARD EFFECT ON CRIME<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGiven that Flock\u2019s latest announcement still appears more focused on addressing a perceived PR problem than the significant harms its products create, this is hardly the step forward Flock wants us to think it is,\u201d the American Civil Liberties Union wrote<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/privacy-technology\/despite-new-updates-flocks-creepy-cameras-remain-major-civil-liberties-threat\"> in a press release<\/a> Thursday. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTransforming an exceptionally dangerous mass surveillance system into one that is fully protective of civil rights and civil liberties is a difficult, if not impossible task,\u201d the organization wrote. \u201cThat is even more the case with a company like Flock, whose nearly $1 billion in venture capitalist funding has locked it into an operational model that seeks to trade our privacy for massive profits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flock CEO announces privacy updates amid surveillance concerns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2644505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26064713365173.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50402,4325,32364,14429,11458],"class_list":["post-2644504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-leadership-2","tag-privacy","tag-social-media","tag-surveillance","tag-technology"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26064713365173.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2644504"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2644508,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644504\/revisions\/2644508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2644505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2644504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2644504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2644504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}