Flock Keeps Ignoring Requests to Cancel Its Contracts
Cities are canceling their Flock contracts, but the company won't take the equipment down — and in some cases, it's reinstalling it.
Cities across the United States are increasingly moving to terminate their agreements with Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based surveillance technology company known for its automated license plate readers (ALPRs). But according to reporting, the company is not making it easy to walk away.
Cities Move to Cancel — Flock Doesn't Comply
Municipal governments that have voted to end their contracts with Flock are finding that the company is slow to remove its cameras and, in some instances, is reinstalling equipment that had already been taken down. The pattern raises questions about contract enforcement, vendor accountability, and the practical difficulty cities face when trying to extricate themselves from surveillance technology arrangements.
Why Cities Are Pulling Back
The cancellations come amid growing scrutiny of Flock's ALPR systems, which capture and store images of vehicle license plates and are used by law enforcement agencies nationwide. Critics have raised concerns about:
- Data privacy and retention — how long plate data is stored and who can access it
- Immigration enforcement — fears that data could be shared with federal immigration authorities
- Civil liberties — the expansion of mass surveillance infrastructure in local communities
- Procurement transparency — how contracts are awarded and renewed
As public pressure has mounted, city councils and local officials have voted to terminate or decline to renew their agreements with Flock.
A Wider Reckoning for Surveillance Vendors
The dispute reflects a broader trend heading into 2026: local governments are under increasing pressure to justify surveillance spending and to demonstrate that vendors respect community decisions. As more municipalities adopt data governance ordinances and demand greater transparency from technology providers, companies like Flock face a choice between cooperating with cancellations or risking reputational and legal fallout.
For now, the standoff continues — with cities discovering that ending a surveillance contract is easier said than done.
via The Verge