The fight over Flock and other ALPRs

# The fight over Flock and other ALPRs Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/979869/flock-alpr-ai-surveillance-protest-privacy](https://www.theverge.com/tech/979869/flock-alpr-ai-surveillance-protest-privacy) There are[over 120,000](https://www.flocksafety.com/blog/the-price-of-free-lpr#:~:text=Flock%27s%20network%20includes%20more%20than%20120%2C000%20cameras%20across%2049%20states%2C%20giving%20agencies%20a%20broader%20view%20of%20vehicle%20movement%20and%20a%20deeper%20pool%20of%20investigative%20leads.%20The%20usefulness%20of%20LPR%20grows%20with%20the%20size%20and%20reach%20of%20the%20network%20behind%20it)of Flock’s automatic license plate reader \(ALPR\) cameras installed all over the US\. Flock’s cameras, and others like them, use AI to identify and track vehicles based on their license plate number, make, model, color, and other info, networked together to track vehicles and people’s movements throughout the day and across the country\. Dozens of communities have canceled contracts for the cameras or turned them off,[including Los Angeles](https://www.theverge.com/tech/964903/the-lapd-has-suspended-its-use-of-flocks-license-plate-readers-for-now), as officials have pushed for more limits on the data they collect, who has access to it, and how it can be used in the future\. Earlier this year, Amazon\-owned Ring[canceled a partnership with Flock](https://www.theverge.com/news/878447/ring-flock-partnership-canceled)after online backlash\. -  ## [Flock CEO: ‘We got this one wrong’](https://www.theverge.com/policy/979339/flock-ceo-audits-data-retention)   Image: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images Surveillance tech company Flock is rolling out updates to address reports of cops across the country abusing its tools to stalk ex\-romantic partners and others\. CEO Garrett Langley is delivering a mea culpa, and in an interview with*The Verge*, says he’s changed his mind on what responsibility Flock bears for how law enforcement uses it\. Over the coming weeks, Flock will begin implementing updates that include requiring a previously optional feature called Audit Assistance, which flags “abnormal search behavior” and immediately locks out suspicious users until an administrator reviews their activity\. All users will also be required to enter case codes to run searches, ideally limiting the ability to run a query for personal or nefarious purposes\. This can be overridden by an administrator for emergency situations, like tracking a missing child, but those will automatically be flagged for review\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/policy/979339/flock-ceo-audits-data-retention) -  Flock cameras? Target practice\. As[*BoingBoing*notes](https://boingboing.net/2026/08/04/congressional-candidate-arrested-after-flock-surveillance-cameras-shot-at.html), a Tennessee candidate*for Congress*was charged for four counts of felony vandalism for allegedly shooting up Flock cameras\. The Blount County sheriff’s office[says the suspect admitted](https://www.bcso.com/joint-investigation-leads-to-arrest-of-lenoir-city-man/)to shooting the “ALPR systems” over about a week in July\. To say these systems are unpopular is becoming an understatement\. -  Another grim portent for our AI policing future\. Joel Feder at*The Drive*[reported a frightening story](https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-flock-cameras-wrongly-tracked-me-for-days-over-stolen-plates-and-sent-police-after-me)about how[Flock cameras](https://www.theverge.com/tech/964903/the-lapd-has-suspended-its-use-of-flocks-license-plate-readers-for-now), recently suspended by the LAPD, tracked him in Minnesota and sent police after him over “stolen plates\.” \(They were not\.\) Flock says its cameras worked “correctly” in the lead\-up to a potentially deadly incident\. But here we are[in our new era of computer policing](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/965066/ai-police-cops)\. -  The LAPD has suspended its use of Flock’s license plate readers, for now\. An unnamed spokesperson for Flock[told media outlets](https://ktla.com/news/local-news/flock-safety-says-lapd-halting-the-use-of-their-license-plate-readers-was-a-surprise/)that unspecified “misconceptions” led to the pause\. -  ## [No, Flock isn’t threatening people for debating surveillance](https://www.theverge.com/tech/964425/flock-safety-cease-and-desist-letter)   Cath Virginia / The Verge \| Photos from Getty Images On Thursday, the Instagram account for a lecture series in Newport Beach, CA posted a photo of what appeared to be a cease and desist letter from the surveillance technology company Flock Safety\. Flock has received significant backlash over its technology and work with law enforcement agencies, and this letter kicked off yet another wave of criticism against the company for allegedly trying to shut down discussions of its work\. “WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED,” the group, The Saturday Salon, wrote in[the Instagram post](https://www.instagram.com/thesaturdaysalon/), which has more than 3,000 likes\. A separate post about the letter on Bluesky has[more than 360 reposts](https://bsky.app/profile/bennjordan.bsky.social/post/3mqcmjhtstc2y)\. The text of the letter demands that the group stop hosting conversations about Flock’s surveillance technology\. In a DM from The Saturday Salon’s Instagram account, Schuyler Lifschultz tells*The Verge*that it “found this letter taped to our front door\.” [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/tech/964425/flock-safety-cease-and-desist-letter) -  The all\-too\-predictable Flock stalking problem\. A report from*[404 Media](https://www.404media.co/cops-keep-getting-arrested-for-using-flock-to-stalk-people/)*shows how more than a dozen cases around the US have shown police[using Flock to illegally stalk victims](https://deflockjoplin.today/posts/2026-01-08-JPD-Audit.html?ref=404media.co)\. Flock acknowledged it’s aware of 15 incidents, claiming“each surfaced because of the transparency and accountability features deliberately built into our platform\.” But that doesn’t reflect how some victims only found out by using the HaveIBeenFlocked\.com website that Flock has tried to have taken down, or the[many](https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/26/4774960/nsa-reveals-intentional-abuse-of-surveillance-database)[years](https://www.theverge.com/2013/8/24/4654480/nsa-agents-reportedly-eavesdropped-on-love-interests)of similar reports with other surveillance tech, a problem the NSA tagged “[LOVEINT](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-WB-40005)\.” -  ## [Let’s talk about Ring, lost dogs, and the surveillance state](https://www.theverge.com/podcast/879203/ring-search-party-super-bowl-ai-surveillance-privacy-security) Today, let’s talk about the camera company Ring, lost dogs, and the surveillance state\. You probably saw this ad during the Super Bowl a couple of weekends ago: [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/podcast/879203/ring-search-party-super-bowl-ai-surveillance-privacy-security) -  ## [Ring’s Flock breakup doesn’t fix its real problem](https://www.theverge.com/report/879320/ring-flock-partnership-breakup-does-not-fix-problems)   Image: The Verge -  Flock is “pausing further exploration of a potential partnership with Ring\.” > Over the past several months, Flock and Ring explored whether their respective platforms could responsibly complement one another in support of public safety\. Throughout those discussions, Flock engaged extensively with customers, public officials, and community stakeholders to understand expectations around accountability, transparency, and lawful use\. Based on that engagement, Flock and Ring have chosen to cancel the planned integration\. -  ## [Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash](https://www.theverge.com/news/878447/ring-flock-partnership-canceled)   Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Following intense backlash to its[partnership with Flock Safety](https://www.theverge.com/news/801856/amazon-ring-partners-flock-video), a surveillance technology company that works with law enforcement agencies, Ring[has announced](https://blog.ring.com/about-ring/ring-and-flock-cancel-partnership/)it is canceling the integration\. In a statement published on Ring’s blog and provided to*The Verge*ahead of publication, the company said: “Following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated\. We therefore made the joint decision to cancel the integration and continue with our current partners … The integration never launched, so no Ring customer videos were ever sent to Flock Safety\.” [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/news/878447/ring-flock-partnership-canceled) -  ## [Dozens of Flock AI camera feeds were just out there](https://www.theverge.com/news/849624/flock-ai-camera-feeds-exposed-benn-jordan)   Cath Virginia / The Verge \| Photos from Getty Images The livestreams connected to more than 60 of Flock’s AI\-powered surveillance cameras were left available to view on the web, allowing someone to see live feeds of each location without needing a username or password, according to[findings from tech YouTuber Benn Jordan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1-uiUlHTo&t=181s)and[*404 Media*](https://www.404media.co/flock-exposed-its-ai-powered-cameras-to-the-internet-we-tracked-ourselves/)\. Flock is a technology company that works[with thousands](https://www.flocksafety.com/blog/the-power-of-connected-intelligence)of law enforcement agencies and businesses to deploy a network of AI\-powered cameras across the country\. It also recently[partnered with Ring](https://www.theverge.com/news/801856/amazon-ring-partners-flock-video), giving Flock customers the ability to request footage from users in Ring’s Neighbors app\. As noted by*404 Media*, many of Flock’s cameras are made to[scan a vehicle’s license plates](https://www.404media.co/ice-taps-into-nationwide-ai-enabled-camera-network-data-shows/)\. However, the feeds exposed to the internet connect to Flock’s Condor cameras, which can pan, tilt, and zoom to[automatically track people and vehicles](https://www.flocksafety.com/blog/new-ai-video-analytics-features-24-7-security-coverage-no-extra-staff-needed?ref=404media.co)\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/news/849624/flock-ai-camera-feeds-exposed-benn-jordan) -  AI annotators overseas may be reviewing Flock license plate camera footage from the US\. An exposed dataset from the license plate surveillance company Flock, which is known to work with the[US Border Patrol](https://www.theverge.com/news/825142/ap-investigation-reveals-border-patrols-nationwide-surveillance-network-of-license-plate-readers)and[ICE via local police](https://www.404media.co/ice-taps-into-nationwide-ai-enabled-camera-network-data-shows/), showed that some of the[AI annotators](https://www.theverge.com/features/23764584/ai-artificial-intelligence-data-notation-labor-scale-surge-remotasks-openai-chatbots)paid to classify American license plates are located in the Philippines\. After*[404 Media](https://www.404media.co/flock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai/)*contacted Flock for comment, the dataset disappeared\. [](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/flock-ml-3.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100) -  ## [Amazon’s Ring now works with video surveillance company Flock](https://www.theverge.com/news/801856/amazon-ring-partners-flock-video)   Image: Dan Seifert / The Verge -  ## [Unprotected license plate surveillance cameras let anyone with a web browser tune in](https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9626890/license-plate-readers-eff-report)   Automated license plate recognition systems, also known as ALPR or simply LPR systems, have become increasingly popular —[and controversial](http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/29/4478748/california-license-plate-reader-database-palantir)— tools for law enforcement in recent years\. The systems can automatically photograph and record data on license plates in real time, drawing the ire of privacy advocates like those at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has just released information on security vulnerabilities in ALPR systems across the country\. “Earlier this year, EFF learned that more than a hundred ALPR cameras were exposed online, often with totally open Web pages accessible by anyone with a browser,” the organization says[in the new report released today](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/license-plate-readers-exposed-how-public-safety-agencies-responded-massive)\. [Read Article \>](https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9626890/license-plate-readers-eff-report)