Flock surveillance cameras misused to stalk individuals across US cities
Flock's automated license plate readers, deployed across 80,000 US locations, have allegedly been misused by police officers to track romantic interests and exes. The system's architecture and default sharing agreements also raise concerns about privacy violations and unauthorized access to surveillance data.
What happened
Flock operates more than 80,000 automated license plate readers across the US that capture vehicle location data. An ACLU investigation found that Flock's default agreement with police departments allowed the company to share license plate data with federal and local agencies for 'investigative purposes'.
The Institute for Justice analyzed media reports and found at least 14 cases where police officers allegedly accessed Flock ALPR data to track romantic interests, including current partners, exes, and strangers. Nearly all the officers involved were criminally charged and lost their jobs.
Reported impact
Residents across multiple US cities face surveillance of their movements and creation of AI-generated profiles without their consent. Flock cameras are installed along roadways, in parks, playgrounds, schools, parking lots, and libraries.
Flock employees have allegedly accessed camera feeds for purposes beyond law enforcement. A Georgia resident reported that a Flock employee accessed cameras at a children's gymnastics center, and people have reportedly purchased Flock login credentials online to gain unauthorized access to camera feeds.
Index analysis
The system enables large-scale tracking of vehicle movements across the nation through a network of cameras feeding data into AI databases that build citizen profiles. The architecture allows data sharing with federal and local agencies, creating risk of misuse by individual officers.
Multiple security vulnerabilities have been documented, including compromised employee access and the ability for unauthorized parties to purchase credentials and access live camera feeds from schools, libraries, and private facilities.
Governance controls
Some cities have begun removing Flock cameras in response to privacy concerns. Police departments have been shown to lack adequate internal controls to prevent officers from misusing the surveillance data for personal purposes.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.