Flock CEO Calls for 'Compromise' as Surveillance Company Faces Growing Backlash

Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley says the nation must find a 'compromise' between privacy and safety as his company confronts intensifying public scrutiny over its surveillance technology. 'When people talk about just one of these—privacy or safety—they're prioritizing the wrong thing,' Langley said in a recent interview with Fox News. 'What we have to prioritize as a country is compromise. How do we have our safety, and how do we balance privacy?' The Fox News appearance marked just the latest in a series of interviews Langley has given as Flock faces mounting criticism over potential misuse of its cameras, drones, and license plate recognition systems. These concerns are not merely hypothetical. The Washington Post recently identified 46 cases in which police officers were accused of using Flock technology for unauthorized purposes—including stalking wives, girlfriends, or ex-partners—highlighting a pattern of abuse that has alarmed civil liberties advocates. In response to one alleged victim's account, Langley told CBS News, 'I apologize. It kills me that she went through that.' Yet he also defended his company: 'I don't think that Flock created police abuse. I think we're the first company to ever shine a light on it and build the tools to find it.' As data center concerns have become a potent political issue across the spectrum, Flock has now drawn fire from both Democrats and Republicans during the 2026 midterm cycle. On the left, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed recently accused his opponent Mike Rogers of supporting 'this mass proliferation of Flock cameras, any and everywhere, watching your every move to collect information without you even noticing.' Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted a stark message: 'STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE. STOP FLOCK.' On the right, three House Republicans introduced a bill that would bar the federal government from purchasing automated surveillance systems using facial recognition, biometric IDs, or license plate recognition—including, explicitly, 'a Flock Safety camera.' Flock has already implemented some changes in response to the backlash, shortening its default data retention period from 30 days to seven days and requiring a case code before data access. However, both adjustments can be bypassed; police can extend data storage through a feature called Evidence Mode. The American Civil Liberties Union, while acknowledging the changes, remained cautious: 'Flock has not shortened the default retention period to the ACLU's recommended 48 hours, but its proposal may be a step in the right direction. Whether this is a real change or just another Flock PR move will depend on how its Evidence Mode operates.' As the debate intensifies, Flock's attempts at compromise face a skeptical public and a politically divided landscape—raising fundamental questions about the balance between safety and surveillance in modern America.

via TechCrunch AI