What the Flock?!
Mass 50501 continues our work at the municipal and state levels to remove Flock cameras from our communities and people are paying attention! If you are here, you’ve likely already learned a little bit about the dangers of these AI-powered mass surveillance tools. Things are changing fast and it can be tough to keep up with all the news. We’ll continue to post blogs about Flock (check our articles here). In this space, we’ll provide you with quick info from Flock news nationwide. This information could be helpful in removing cameras from your city or town! As always, if you’re interested in getting more involved, email us at flockoff@mass50501.org and join us in Discord!
Flock News and Updates
April 10, 2026
This week’s What the Flock?! round-up includes a recap of data sharing concerns, proof that ICE has retained side-door access to Flock data, reporting on an incident in which Flock cameras were used to enforce a traffic violation, and city council remarks worth watching.
The Guardian recently provided a broad recap of data sharing and privacy concerns with Flock that have led some communities to reconsider or cancel their contracts. The Dutchtown Community Improvement District in St. Louis, MO recently cancelled their Flock contracts, citing concerns about data sharing with ICE. While Flock Safety continually reassures the public that they don’t share information with ICE, 404 Media found that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission police made dozens of searches with “immigration” as the stated search term (per a January audit), proving that ICE retains side-door access to Flock data from access points that many police departments likely wouldn’t ever consider as problematic. (Fish and Wildlife police?! Really?) 404 Media also reported that a motorcyclist in GA was issued a traffic ticket that read “CAPTURED ON FLOCK CAMERA 31 MM 1 HOLDING PHONE IN LEFT HAND.” This incident highlights two major problems: 1) Flock cameras capture more information beyond license plate images (as is often reported by Flock and municipalities to assuage concerns about privacy) and 2) the data captured by ALPRs can be used in any way with limited oversight.
If you want to learn more about Flock’s disastrous record, check out Benn Jordan’s comments at his city council meeting in February. See also a reddit post where a resident from Corona, CA shared how he is working to get rid of Flock in his community, including a link to his statements at a city council meeting. His statements are worth listening to. He mentions how Flock Safety’s data collection goes well beyond simple license plate surveillance. He also brought up the wider societal context: Flock Safety integrates with Palantir, whose CEO Alex Karp recently stated that AI technology “disrupts humanities-trained—largely Democratic—voters, and makes their economic power less. And increases the economic power of vocationally trained, working-class, often male, working-class voters.” Yikes.
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Introducing What the Flock?!
Our first installation of What the Flock?! features a wider timeline of Flock news, including reports of Flock’s many problems, opposition efforts, resources to take action, and contract cancellations, including in our very own Attleboro, MA!
Photo by Mass 50501 Volunteer.
Mass 50501 continues our work at the municipal and state levels to remove Flock cameras from our communities and people are paying attention! Things are changing fast and it can be tough to keep up with all the news. We’ll continue to post blogs about Flock (check our previous articles here). In our new feature, What the Flock?!, we’ll provide you with quick info from Flock news nationwide. This information could be helpful in removing cameras from your city or town! As always, if you’re interested in getting more involved, email us at flockoff@mass50501.org and join us in Discord! Here’s our first news round-up:
In February, NPR gave a broad overview of Flock’s many problems, including data sharing across state lines and with federal agencies; Flock CEO Garrett Langley’s branding of opposition efforts as “coordinated attacks” from "the same activist groups who want to defund the police, weaken public safety, and normalize lawlessness;” and communities that have cancelled or are working to cancel their Flock contracts. A March TechSpot article similarly reported on the controversy surrounding Flock. Have I Been Flocked reported on troubling changes to Flock’s contract terms. If you want to hear about problems from some experts, the researchers at 404 Media did a Reddit AMA about Flock and the state of surveillance in the US. A family in Illinois was blocked from enrolling in their local school district (despite owning a home in the district) because an ALPR system tracked their vehicle as being parked out of district for a period of time over the summer. And for some local reporting: The Lowell Sun wrote negatively about Flock Safety due to cameras in Tewksbury, Lowell, and Billerica. If YouTube is more your thing, check out Louis Rossmann’s reporting (independent electronics technician, YouTuber, and consumer rights activist).
Now for the good news: a commissioner in Camden County, MO motioned to enforce an established ordinance banning ALPRs on the county’s roads. While he was outvoted 2-1, we applaud his efforts! Contracts have been paused or cancelled in Dunwoody, GA; San Jose, CA; Dane County, WI (after some shady practices by Flock); and our very own Attleboro, MA! Notice—most of these contracts were cancelled by City Council vote, which is why talking to your municipal leaders is extremely important. Louis Rossman has a video detailing a tool to alert you when AI-surveillance is on a meeting agenda in your community!
More specific good news for Massachusetts: MA House Bill H.3755, legislation that would impose meaningful statewide LPR guardrails (data retention and sharing limits), just advanced out of the Transportation Committee and now awaits action in the House Ways and Means Committee! Reach out to your House representative and let them know how important this legislation is. The next step is to make sure the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee knows that MA voters care about passing this bill. See our Action page for how to contact your representative and for message templates.
And finally, here are two resources to help you learn more about this issue and take further action: Codeberg’s Deflock your City toolkit and Get the Flock Out of Here database.
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