US cities cut Flock Safety contracts at record pace in August
At least 93 US jurisdictions have terminated contracts with license-plate-reading surveillance firm Flock Safety this August, a record pace, amid bipartisan backlash over misuse of the technology.
Flock Safety, the company behind a widespread network of AI-powered license plate reader cameras, is facing mounting political and public pressure, with a record number of US jurisdictions cutting ties with the firm this August. According to updated figures from the advocacy group Secure Justice, 93 jurisdictions have now ended their Flock contracts this month, up from an earlier count of 90.
Flock's top lawyer recently published a blog post stating that the company's newly revised terms of use now expressly bar customers and their users from using Flock's services to mislead, harass, stalk, or otherwise violate another person's legal rights. However, these measures have done little to ease growing political scrutiny.
Bipartisan concern
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he is investigating how Flock Safety collects, retains, and shares data generated by its AI surveillance cameras. Separately, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the company's cameras as being "out of control" in his state, following the arrest of two Florida police officers for misusing the technology. DeSantis expressed alarm over reports of officers using the cameras to track ex-girlfriends.
Jake Laperruque of the Center for Democracy and Technology said AI is turning license plate readers into a tool for mass surveillance — cameras can now be searched by keyword or person, cities are adding real-time facial recognition to camera networks, and Border Patrol is using AI to flag "suspicious" driving patterns from the data.
UC Berkeley law professor Catherine Crump pointed to prior incidents fueling the backlash, including a Texas sheriff's office using the technology to search for a woman who had had an abortion, and federal agents proposing its use outside gun shows. Crump noted that public frustration is also driven by wariness toward yet another Silicon Valley product reshaping everyday life without public demand.
