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Flock's Camera Network Faces a Privacy and Accuracy Reckoning

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Flock's Camera Network Faces a Privacy and Accuracy Reckoning

2026-08-03 09:41 UTCBy AlphaScala Research DeskSource reporting: businessinsider.comEditorial standards

Flock's Camera Network Faces a Privacy and Accuracy Reckoning

A Business Insider investigation found Flock misread plates in 71% of 1,427 alerts in Roseville, California. Towns are canceling contracts. Courts haven't ruled.

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Flock Safety has deployed roughly 120,000 automated license plate readers across 49 states. The cameras photograph every passing vehicle, extract the plate, color, make, and model, and turn that data into a searchable record. CEO Garrett Langley said in a May blog post that on a single day in July, the network alerted authorities to more than 4,000 sex offenders, 2,100 stolen cars, and 1,600 wanted people. The company operates on a subscription model, charging annual service fees per camera. After its last fundraising round last year, Flock was valued at $7.5 billion.

Privacy advocates see a different picture. The Electronic Frontier Foundation calls the network mass surveillance because it captures every vehicle, not just those tied to a suspected crime. Critics say a broad network can reveal intimate patterns – visits to medical facilities, religious institutions, or political events. The EFF obtained records showing Texas deputies queried Flock's network during an investigation involving a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion. The ACLU has reported that local police departments shared or searched Flock data for immigration-enforcement purposes.

Flock says its cameras do not use facial recognition. The company argues that customers control data access and that vehicle records are automatically deleted after 30 days by default, though longer retention periods are permitted when contracts and local laws allow. Flock also says data sharing can expand the system's reach by letting agencies search records collected outside their jurisdictions.

Accuracy is a separate problem. In Roseville, California, Flock misread the plate in 71% of 1,427 stolen-vehicle and felony alerts issued during 2023 and 2024, a Business Insider investigation found. The investigation documented drivers being stopped at gunpoint and jailed following incorrect matches. In Toledo, Brandon Upchurch was bitten by a police dog, taken to the hospital, and jailed after a Flock camera confused a "7" on his plate for a "2."

A growing number of towns and cities have canceled their Flock contracts or banned the cameras outright. Local governments often cite Flock's willingness to share data with the federal government and other privacy concerns in their decisions. The ACLU has published organizing materials urging residents to examine contracts, city proceedings, and data-sharing practices before their municipalities buy or renew.

Courts have not ruled definitively on whether networked ALPRs violate the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches. The law generally treats license plates and vehicles driven on public roads as information in the public domain. Flock argued in a November 2025 white paper that its cameras sit at fixed locations and capture only point-in-time images, not a seamless diary of movements. The company said "the constitutional concern arises when technology stitches together a comprehensive portrait of someone's movements over time." Privacy groups say the network as a whole does exactly that.

Flock does not publish a complete map of its camera locations. One way to find nearby cameras is to use DeFlock, an open-source community-run project that maps automated license plate readers. Local government records can also clarify the location of cameras purchased with public funds. The ACLU recommends searching city council agendas, police department policies, and purchasing records for terms like "Flock Safety" or "automated license plate reader."

Langley founded Flock in 2017. The company now sells conventional video cameras, audio-detection technology, investigative software, and drones alongside its license plate readers. Its customer base includes police departments, local governments, businesses, schools, homeowner associations, and property operators. The company has positioned itself as a crime-fighting tool, and its valuation depends on continued subscription growth.

A Supreme Court ruling that limits the use of networked ALPR data would reshape the business. So would a federal ruling that networked ALPRs constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment. Further documented misreads leading to wrongful arrests, or a pattern of constitutional violations established in litigation, could chill new contracts and push existing customers to cancel. Flock's next growth test may come from a courtroom, not a competitor.