What the Flock?! September 11, 2026
A lot has happened in the world of surveillance since we last surveyed the ground of the warring efforts of Flock to put up cameras and citizens to get them taken right down again! Let’s review:
Flock has remained under fire (sometimes friendly) about their shady business dealings and loose relationship with the truth while pitching their products. Comedians and satirists also smell the blood in the water, with The Onion reporting on Flock’s pros and cons, The Week rounding up some anti-Flock political cartoons, and Darth Vader joining San Diego’s city council meeting to profess his admiration.
Cases of police misuse of the tech have proliferated, from South Carolina to Georgia, and right here in Massachusetts, with police officers in Stow, Lynn, and New Bedford being disciplined.
And contract cancellations have proliferated in towns and cities across the nation. Cleveland’s city council declined to extend their $250,000 contract with Flock back in June, but then extended their contract a month later. The LAPD has chosen to allow their contract to expire until data security concerns have been answered, which prompted Flock CEO Garrett Langley to make a statement in support of Flock’s technology.
While Flock continues to downplay the invasive nature of their tech, their own training materials tell a different story. 404 Media reported that Flock trained officers on how their software platform FlockOS can be used to integrate information during surveillance of large-scale events, such as during a No Kings protest. (Audit logs have shown that Flock’s network has already been searched for terms such as “No Kings.”)
Massachusetts towns that have decided to cancel contracts so far include Cambridge, Salem, Littleton, Hopkinton, Wellesley, East Bridgewater, Grafton, Auburn, Douglas, Ayer, Abington, Southbridge, Barnstable, among many others—never mind all those that have merely paused their usage pending further review (such as in Methuen).
While this move away from Flock is a victory for the privacy-loving population (and we should celebrate it!), it’s not unmitigated: Some cities are simply moving to a less prominent competitor like Axon or Motorola. We should make sure to stay vigilant against all intrusions on our privacy, particularly by government contractors.
An interesting aspect of the growing anti-Flock movement is the way it crosses what we might consider typical ideological boundaries: no one likes these things. Of course privacy advocates like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have been on the case for quite a while, but Flock’s even drawing ire from unlikely sources like police unions. We’re seeing citizens reach across the aisle at the city level to defend their community’s right to privacy. And from Texas to Massachusetts, we’re seeing legislators of all stripes enter the fray. Rep. Massie (R-KY) has even introduced a bill at the federal level that would restrict federal funding on ALPR systems (which has some pretty notable carveouts, though, so make sure to read the full bill for yourself!). Get more information here.
These legislative moves could offer more robust protections than the town-by-town Flock cancellations. And we’re seeing success in the court too, with Suffolk Superior Court ruling that Massachusetts State Police must disclose ALPR camera locations, as requested in FOIA requests filed by the ACLU—a win for transparency!
Keep the pressure on!
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