Flock Safety ALPR Controversy: Patterns of Misrepresentation and Privacy Concerns

Flock Safety faces scrutiny for misleading government clients and the public

Flock Safety, a provider of automatic license plate readers (ALPR), has been accused by the ACLU of repeatedly lying to city councils, police departments, and the general public about its operational capabilities and privacy protections. These misrepresentations have led to the immediate cancellation of contracts in some jurisdictions and raised broader concerns about the transparency of mass surveillance infrastructure.

Misrepresentation of Tracking Capabilities in Oshkosh

Flock Safety's claims regarding vehicle tracking were directly contradicted by its own system capabilities, leading to a record-setting contract termination in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. During a city council meeting in April 2026, Flock's chief information security officer stated that the ALPR system did not create patterns or heat maps of an individual's movement. Based on this assurance, the council approved the contract; however, the city discovered the following morning that the system does indeed produce heat maps showing where a vehicle has been captured for up to a month.

Following the discovery, the Oshkosh City Council revoked its approval within 24 hours. Flock later categorized the false statement as a "minor nuance" and a "small misconception."

Data Sharing and Federal Agency Access

Flock Safety has provided contradictory information regarding the access federal agencies have to its ALPR data, specifically concerning immigration enforcement.

Federal Contracts and Direct Access

In Colorado, Flock initially told the Loveland Police Chief and the press that federal agencies did not have access to the town's ALPR data and that the company had no federal contracts. Flock later admitted it held contracts with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for pilot projects that granted those agencies direct access to license data.

Indirect Access via Local Law Enforcement

Despite publishing a blog post titled "Does Flock Share Data With ICE? No. Flock Does Not Work With ICE," the company was found to be facilitating indirect access. While ICE may not have direct system access, cooperating local police departments regularly share Flock ALPR data and search results with ICE and CBP. The ACLU asserts that Flock used a technicality—the fact that customers "own" the data—to mislead the public about the reality of immigration enforcement surveillance.

Failure of Compliance Tools for Sensitive Searches

Flock Safety's "Proactive Search Term Tool," launched in June 2025 to prevent the use of ALPRs for cross-state abortion enforcement, has proven ineffective in practice. The tool was designed to block impermissible searches and require a search reason when accessing data from states like Illinois.

Investigation into network audits revealed that law enforcement officers frequently bypass these safeguards by entering vague or nonsensical terms. For example, an Oregon police department entered "investigation" 111 times and "hehehe" 20 times into the search reason field to successfully access the system, demonstrating that the security triggers are easily circumvented.

False Claims of ACLU Partnerships

Flock Safety has repeatedly and falsely claimed to have collaborated with the ACLU to design its systems or craft legislation.

• New Mexico: A Flock Senior Director of Public Affairs claimed on social media that the company partnered with the ACLU of New Mexico to craft a state-level ALPR bill. The ACLU states they only supported the same legislation for different reasons and never partnered with Flock.
• Illinois: During a 2021 Urbana City Council meeting, Flock representatives told council members that the company had worked with the ACLU to design an ALPR system that incorporated the organization's considerations.

The ACLU has explicitly denied any partnership or design collaboration with Flock Safety.

Community and Technical Perspectives

Public discussion regarding Flock Safety's practices highlights a divide between those prioritizing crime reduction and those concerned with the erosion of privacy and trust.

Arguments for ALPR Utility

Some users report that the presence of Flock cameras has a tangible effect on reducing local crime. One account noted that a recurring group of vehicle thieves in Oakland, who previously ignored police warnings, ceased their activity after the installation of Flock cameras.

Concerns over Surveillance and Trust

Critics argue that the habitual lying by a private corporation managing mass surveillance infrastructure is a critical failure of oversight.

"The worst thing about this isn't that a company or CEO lied. It's that a private corporation that runs the largest mass surveillance system in the country habitually lies about what it does so local governments will adopt it and it can then secretly give that access to the government."

Other observers suggest that the deployment of such systems creates a "panopticon" effect that destroys the high-trust environment necessary for a functioning society.