Flock CEO defends surveillance technology amid backlash: 'We shouldn't pause progress'

Garrett Langley, founder and CEO of Flock, defended his company's surveillance technology on Wednesday at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 conference in San Francisco. Flock makes license plate cameras and other recording devices used by police in the United States. The company faces widespread criticism that has led to cancelled customer contracts and layoffs.

'We shouldn't pause progress'

Langley argued that in a society where people want offenders to be more likely to be held accountable, progress should not be paused. In his view, anyone who wants less crime must give up some privacy. He compared the technology to driverless cars: after a single accident, he said, the answer is not to shut them down but to discuss how to prevent more.

During the interview he often answered tough questions with stories of conversations with police chiefs and city leaders, and with examples of crimes Flock has helped solve. TechCrunch notes that he offered no concrete solutions to people's concerns.

Responsibility and mistakes

Langley said some customers cancelled contracts because of misinformation, for instance believing the cameras perform facial recognition. Flock cameras do not have that feature, but they can detect and track people. He admitted the company is far from perfect and that he has made plenty of mistakes himself.

He prefers to leave decisions on the ethics of using the technology to city leaders. The company will give recommendations and defaults, but wants to minimize mandated features and policies.

On policing, he said law enforcement employment is declining rapidly, with hundreds of open positions in San Francisco that may never be filled, and suggested Flock could fill those gaps. Asked about abuse and invasiveness, he named no specific measures. He called the criticism the price of building a consequential company and said he considers it worth paying.