Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley has called for a “compromise” between privacy and safety, emphasizing that prioritizing only one of these aspects is misguided. In a recent Fox News interview, Langley stated that the nation must focus on balancing both concerns, asking, “How do we have our safety, and how do we balance privacy?” This appeal for compromise comes amid growing public backlash against Flock Safety, whose surveillance technologies—including cameras, drones, and license plate recognition—have been accused of misuse by law enforcement officers in 46 documented cases, as reported by The Washington Post.

The controversy surrounding Flock Safety has garnered attention from politicians across the political spectrum. On the left, Democratic figures such as Michigan’s Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Senator Bernie Sanders have criticized the company’s widespread deployment of surveillance cameras. Conversely, on the right, three House Republicans have introduced legislation to prohibit federal procurement of automated surveillance systems, including Flock Safety cameras. In response to the criticism, Flock Safety has implemented changes such as reducing default data retention from 30 days to seven days and requiring case codes for data access, though these measures can be overridden. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has acknowledged these steps as potentially positive but remains skeptical, noting that the retention period is still longer than their recommended 48 hours and questioning the implications of the “Evidence Mode” feature. Langley has advocated for state-level regulations to criminalize the illegal use of Flock data and has called for greater accountability and oversight in the deployment of such technologies. Source

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