HomeFlock CEO urges compromise amid mounting backlash
Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley argues that the nation must strike a “compromise” between privacy and safety.
“Focusing solely on either privacy or safety prioritizes the wrong aspect. As a country, we must prioritize compromise,” Langley stated in a recent Fox News interview. “The key question is how we maintain safety while balancing privacy?”
This Fox News appearance marks the latest in a series of interviews given by Langley as public backlash grows over concerns that Flock’s surveillance cameras, drones, and license plate recognition technology may be misused.
These concerns are not merely theoretical. The Washington Post recently documented 46 instances where police officers were accused of using Flock technology for unauthorized purposes, such as stalking wives, girlfriends, or ex-partners.
Following an interview with one of the alleged victims, Langley told CBS News, “I apologize. It breaks my heart that she went through that.” However, he maintained, “I don’t believe Flock created police abuse. We are simply the first company to shine a light on it and build tools to detect it.”
As data center controversies have gained traction across the political spectrum, both Democratic and Republican politicians have begun targeting Flock.
On the left, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed recently accused his opponent, Mike Rogers, of supporting “the mass proliferation of Flock cameras, placed anywhere and everywhere, watching your every move to collect information without your knowledge.” Meanwhile, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted, “STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE. STOP FLOCK.”
On the right, three House Republicans recently introduced a bill prohibiting the federal government from purchasing automated surveillance systems that utilize facial recognition, biometric IDs, or license plate recognition, “including Flock Safety cameras.”
In response to the criticism, Flock has implemented several changes, reducing the default data retention period from 30 days to seven days and requiring a case code before accessing data. However, both measures can be overridden; for instance, police can extend data retention by using a feature called Evidence Mode.
Regarding Flock’s announced changes, the American Civil Liberties Union stated, “While Flock has not shortened the default retention period to the ACLU’s recommended 48 hours, its proposal may be a step in the right direction. Whether this represents a genuine change or merely another Flock PR move will depend on how its ‘Evidence Mode’ operates.”
Langley has suggested that state regulators should “pass bills making [the illegal use of Flock data] a criminal offense.” During his Fox News interview, he highlighted the company’s recent changes while noting, “Today, it is too often that in Flock and other technologies, there’s no regulation. There’s no accountability, and we believe that is wrong.”
TechCrunch will also address these issues when Langley appears on-stage at our Disrupt conference in October.
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Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley argues that the nation must strike a “compromise” between privacy and safety.
“Focusing solely on either privacy or safety prioritizes the wrong aspect. As a country, we must prioritize compromise,” Langley stated in a recent Fox News interview. “The key question is how we maintain safety while balancing privacy?”
This Fox News appearance marks the latest in a series of interviews given by Langley as public backlash grows over concerns that Flock’s surveillance cameras, drones, and license plate recognition technology may be misused.
These concerns are not merely theoretical. The Washington Post recently documented 46 instances where police officers were accused of using Flock technology for unauthorized purposes, such as stalking wives, girlfriends, or ex-partners.
Following an interview with one of the alleged victims, Langley told CBS News, “I apologize. It breaks my heart that she went through that.” However, he maintained, “I don’t believe Flock created police abuse. We are simply the first company to shine a light on it and build tools to detect it.”
As data center controversies have gained traction across the political spectrum, both Democratic and Republican politicians have begun targeting Flock.
On the left, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed recently accused his opponent, Mike Rogers, of supporting “the mass proliferation of Flock cameras, placed anywhere and everywhere, watching your every move to collect information without your knowledge.” Meanwhile, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted, “STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE. STOP FLOCK.”
On the right, three House Republicans recently introduced a bill prohibiting the federal government from purchasing automated surveillance systems that utilize facial recognition, biometric IDs, or license plate recognition, “including Flock Safety cameras.”
In response to the criticism, Flock has implemented several changes, reducing the default data retention period from 30 days to seven days and requiring a case code before accessing data. However, both measures can be overridden; for instance, police can extend data retention by using a feature called Evidence Mode.
Regarding Flock’s announced changes, the American Civil Liberties Union stated, “While Flock has not shortened the default retention period to the ACLU’s recommended 48 hours, its proposal may be a step in the right direction. Whether this represents a genuine change or merely another Flock PR move will depend on how its ‘Evidence Mode’ operates.”
Langley has suggested that state regulators should “pass bills making [the illegal use of Flock data] a criminal offense.” During his Fox News interview, he highlighted the company’s recent changes while noting, “Today, it is too often that in Flock and other technologies, there’s no regulation. There’s no accountability, and we believe that is wrong.”
TechCrunch will also address these issues when Langley appears on-stage at our Disrupt conference in October.
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