Flock announces platform changes amid backlash over its license plate reader network
- Flock Safety said it will make changes to its license plate reader platform after growing criticism from lawmakers, civil liberties groups and some local governments over privacy and misuse concerns.
- The company runs a nationwide network of automated cameras that capture license plates and other vehicle details, and thousands of law enforcement agencies in 49 states can search and share the data across jurisdictions.
- Flock said it will require law enforcement customers to use an audit tool, tie each search to a specific case number, shorten the default data retention period from 30 days to seven, and allow customers to limit which offense types outside agencies can search for.
- The company said searches made under emergency overrides will be flagged for review, and that customers will be able to block outside searches related to certain uses, including immigration enforcement.
- Critics including the ACLU and public-interest lawyers said the changes may not go far enough and argued that police access to the system still leaves room for abuse.
Flock Safety said Thursday that it is changing parts of its license plate reader platform in response to mounting backlash over privacy concerns and reported misuse by some law enforcement officers. The company’s cameras capture license plates and other vehicle characteristics, and its data can be searched and shared by thousands of agencies across the country.
Under the new changes, Flock said law enforcement users will have to use an audit tool, connect each search to a case number, and follow a shorter default data-retention period of seven days instead of 30. The company said it will also allow customers to control which offense categories outside agencies may search for in their data.
Flock said emergency overrides will be automatically flagged for review, and customers will be able to block searches tied to certain purposes, including immigration enforcement. Chief Executive Garrett Langley said the changes are meant to make previously optional guardrails mandatory and give local agencies more control over how the system is used.
Civil liberties advocates and legal critics responded skeptically, saying the revisions still leave too much discretion with police. The ACLU called the shorter retention period a possible step forward but said other changes were largely repeats of existing safeguards, while an Institute for Justice attorney called the announcement window dressing.
Flock在其车牌识别网络引发反弹之际宣布调整措施
Flock Safety周四表示，将对其车牌识别平台的部分功能进行调整，以回应围绕隐私担忧和部分执法人员被指滥用系统而不断升温的反弹。该公司的摄像头会记录车牌和其他车辆特征，相关数据可被全国数千家机构跨辖区检索和共享。
按照新措施，Flock表示执法用户将必须使用审计工具，每次搜索都要关联到具体案件编号，默认数据保留期也将从30天缩短到7天。公司还说，客户可以控制外部机构可检索其数据的罪名类别。
Flock称，紧急情况下的例外搜索会被自动标记供复核，客户也可以阻止与特定用途相关的检索，包括移民执法相关搜索。首席执行官Garrett Langley表示，这些变化旨在把原本可选的防护措施变成强制要求，并让地方机构对系统用途拥有更多控制权。
公民自由倡导者和法律批评者对这些调整持怀疑态度，认为它们仍然给警方留下过多裁量空间。美国公民自由联盟表示，缩短数据保留期可能是向前一步，但其他变化大体仍是既有防护措施的重复；一名Institute for Justice律师则将这一宣布称为“遮掩性动作”。