Flock CEO says privacy can't be the only priority; it is about safety, as Americans vandalize AI surveillance traffic cameras across US

CEO Defends Technology Amid Privacy Concerns

Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley has urged Americans to find a "compromise" between privacy and safety as his company faces mounting criticism over its network of surveillance cameras. In a recent Fox News interview, Langley said, "When people talk about just one of these, privacy or safety, they're prioritizing the wrong thing, and what we have to prioritize as a country is compromise. How do we have our safety, and how do we balance privacy?"

Langley also dismissed calls to ban the technology as "absurd," comparing it to banning vehicles. "Instead what we did is we introduced laws against drunk driving, laws around airbags," he said, suggesting regulation as a middle ground.

The company operates 120,000 automated license plate readers and pan-tilt-zoom cameras across the U.S., capturing billions of data points each month. According to Livemint, Flock has cameras in 49 states that capture 20 billion license plates monthly, along with identifying features like dents and bumper stickers. The company markets the system as a crime-fighting tool, but the growing backlash has prompted action from both ends of the political spectrum.

Backlash and Vandalism

The response to Flock has been increasingly visible. Livemint reported that protesters held rallies in 44 states, and two towns in Massachusetts announced in recent days they would stop using the cameras. A crowd outside Flock's annual conference in Atlanta chanted "Block Flock!" and "Stop spying on us!" Kamau Franklin, founder of Community Movement Builders, vowed to organize at corporate offices and in the streets.

Vandalism has also escalated. The Times of India reported that dozens of Flock cameras have been forcibly destroyed in recent weeks, with citizens using shotguns, spray paint, and saws. In June, a West Virginia man accused of destroying several cameras was arrested. According to the advocacy group DeFlock, at least 56 municipalities have deactivated, canceled, or rejected contracts with Flock this year.

Political and Police Misuse Concerns

Criticism has come from both left and right. TechCrunch noted that Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed accused his opponent Mike Rogers of supporting "this mass proliferation of Flock cameras, any and everywhere, watching your every move to collect information without you even noticing." Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted, "STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE. STOP FLOCK."

On the right, three House Republicans introduced a bill to prohibit the federal government from purchasing automated surveillance systems using facial recognition, biometric IDs, or license plate recognition, including Flock cameras. Livemint added that President Trump said Flock's cameras were "under review," and Republican members of Congress have introduced bills to restrict the technology.

Police misuse has been a central concern. The Washington Post identified 46 cases where officers were accused of using Flock technology for unauthorized purposes, including stalking wives, girlfriends, or exes. Livemint reported that some officers were arrested or fired for using cameras to stalk partners. After listening to an interview with an alleged victim, Langley told CBS News, "I apologize. It kills me that she went through that." He also said, "I don't think Flock created police abuse. I think we're the first company to ever shine a light on it and build the tools to find it."

Langley has acknowledged the need for accountability, telling TechCrunch, "Today, it is too often that in Flock and in other technologies, there's no regulation. There's no accountability, and we think that's wrong." He has urged state regulators to "pass bills that make [the illegal use of Flock data] a criminal offense."

Activist Investigations and Company Response

The backlash has been fueled by independent investigations. Cybersecurity researcher Benn Jordan, who has criticized the company on YouTube, parked a van loaded with electronics near Flock's conference in Atlanta and listened in, suspecting vinyl sheets were used to defeat eavesdropping. Jordan appeared on Tucker Carlson's podcast, where the host compared Flock to the surveillance in George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four."

Jordan also demonstrated vulnerabilities in Flock's systems, including taking control of a camera by pressing a button and accessing a security camera via the internet to broadcast its feed. Langley attributed the access to faulty SIM cards affecting 0.05% of cameras, which were fixed after Jordan's video.

Jason Hunyar, through public-records requests, obtained audit logs showing Flock employees viewed cameras in Dunwoody, Georgia, over 1,000 times, including at a park. Langley acknowledged that Dunwoody's police gave permission to use cameras for sales demos and said Flock stopped using them.

In response, Flock announced new safeguards and reduced default data retention from 30 days to seven days, requiring a case code for access, though these can be overridden via "Evidence Mode." The ACLU called the changes a possible step in the right direction but questioned whether they are a PR move depending on how Evidence Mode operates.

Perspectives

Flock Safety / Garrett Langley: The CEO maintains that privacy and safety must be balanced, rejects outright bans as "absurd," and emphasizes the company's role in exposing police abuse and implementing safeguards.