At least 10 local governments and police departments across the United States have moved since summer 2026 to curb, restrict, or end their use of Flock Safety surveillance technology, citing concerns over mass surveillance, data privacy, and how the company shares data with third parties.
Flock, founded in 2017, sells surveillance tools including license plate readers, drones, and microphone-based devices that detect gunshots and other sounds. More than 100,000 Flock cameras are currently deployed nationwide. The company says its technology helps solve crimes, locate missing people, and recover stolen vehicles.
Communities that have moved to end their Flock contracts include Monroe, Ohio; Newburgh, New York; Richmond, Virginia; Hopkinton, New Bedford, East Bridgewater, and Grafton in Massachusetts; Lansing, Michigan; Asheville, North Carolina; and El Paso County, Colorado. Residents of League City, Texas, voted this week against their police department’s continued use of Flock license plate readers. South Windsor, Connecticut, voted in October to remove cameras that had gone live without public warning or a vote.
Concerns driving the backlash include documented misuse by law enforcement officers — two separate officers were accused or convicted of using Flock cameras to stalk former partners — and reports that federal agencies including ICE and the ATF accessed Flock’s database without specific authorization from contracting localities. Ithaca, New York, cited those federal access concerns when it terminated its contract in March.
At the state level, Florida barred license plate readers from state highways, while Texas paused state funding for Flock. In Congress, legislators from both parties have introduced bills targeting the technology, including the Flock-Off Act and the Ban Flock Act.
Flock told TechCrunch it does not sell data and has no contract with ICE, and that it shortened its default data retention period from 30 days to seven days for new customers in August. The company said removing its tools “moves public safety backward.”
Not all governments are walking away — Cleveland, Ohio, extended its Flock contract this summer while adding restrictions on immigration-related searches. The growing backlash suggests communities may increasingly demand greater oversight of how surveillance technology is procured and used.
Source: TechCrunch