Flock is tightening its rules in response to a growing surveillance backlash

Flock, the police-tech company behind a nationwide network of 120,000 license plate cameras, announced new restrictions on officer access to its searchable location database. The move follows a Washington Post investigation that found 46 cases of officers accused of using the system for unauthorized purposes such as stalking romantic partners, as well as growing backlash that has led some cities to drop their contracts.

To curb abuse, Flock will now require officers to enter a criminal case number before conducting a search—a feature previously optional but now mandatory. However, the company will not verify the validity of case numbers, and the ACLU has documented ways officers bypass similar safeguards: at one Oregon department, officers entered 'hehehe' 20 times, and generic terms like 'investigation' were common. Flock is also making its automatic auditing system mandatory; it flags suspicious search activity to administrators, but the company has not disclosed accuracy metrics or opened the tool to independent evaluation.

Beyond these safeguards, Flock now recommends agencies store data for seven days instead of 30, though agencies can override that. It is also allowing departments to restrict other agencies' searches of their cameras to specific stated purposes—for example, allowing 'kidnapping' investigations but not 'immigration enforcement.' These measures still rely on officers accurately reporting their search rationale, leaving significant loopholes in the system.

The changes come amid intense public criticism, including Tucker Carlson's claim that Flock's technology contributes to a 'slave state,' and reports that some cities have ended contracts due to protest over mass surveillance.