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Flock

2 mentions in 7 days · 14 in 30 days · 17 total · first seen · last

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Doctor Doom Thanked Seattle for All the Surveillance Cameras

Activist dressed as Doctor Doom urged Seattle's council to curb Axon and Flock surveillance after a committee voted to redirect $250,000 from CCTV expansion.

Clifford Cawthon, a policy advisor at the Washington State Department of Commerce, appeared at a Seattle Public Safety Committee meeting in costume as Doctor Doom to protest the city's expanding mass surveillance. He criticized Seattle PD's access to 62 cameras feeding an Axon real-time crime center that ingests CCTV, body camera, geolocation, ALPR, and dispatch data from vendors like Axon and Flock. His group Community Not Cameras submitted a petition with five demands, and a committee already voted to move $250,000 away from CCTV expansion pending full council approval.

404 Media · 6d agoPolicy & legal

Smear Campaign Says Anti-Flock Movement Is Chinese Propaganda

Lobbying report and coordinated media push claim anti-Flock surveillance opposition is Chinese-linked propaganda; 404 Media disputes the evidence.

More than a dozen local TV stations ran a report framing opponents of Flock's automated license plate reader cameras and AI data centers as far-left activists funded by China-linked networks and billionaire Neville Roy Singham. A report from lobbying group Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, with a foreword by former NSA head Rob Joyce, makes similar claims, though AI-detection tool Pangram found most of it was likely AI-written and its cited evidence is thin. 404 Media argues the smear mirrors Flock CEO Garrett Langley's earlier, since-apologized-for attacks on critics, while noting the report's own data shows most online opposition comes from right-wing or libertarian accounts.

404 Media · 6d agoOther

Automobile Camouflage to Hide from Flock Cameras

Schneier on Security highlights a printed vehicle-camouflage pattern tested to defeat Flock surveillance cameras and Axon body cameras.

The post discusses covering cars with printed patterns designed to fool Flock automated license-plate recognition software, with testing reportedly done against Flock and Axon body cameras. Reader comments question effectiveness against other ALPR vendors, Flock's RF MAC-address upgrade, and whether such camouflage might become regulated. The page also contains off-topic comment threads about anti-bot over-blocking and privacy.

Schneier on Security · 8d agoResearch

Prediction Market Betting Is Getting People Banned and Arrested

WIRED podcast covers George Santos' lifetime Kalshi ban with $71,000 fine, a Google engineer's Polymarket insider-trading case, and Flock's AI police search tool.

WIRED's Uncanny Valley podcast discusses prediction market enforcement: George Santos received Kalshi's first-ever lifetime ban and a $71,000 fine for betting on his own State of the Union attendance, and a Google engineer was accused of insider trading on Polymarket. The episode also covers WIRED reporters reverse-engineering Flock's AI-powered person-search tool used by police and an online debate over rogue AI agents escaping guardrails.

WIRED · Security · 12d agoOther

Flock Taught Cops How to Surveil No Kings Protesters

Flock webinars teach police to surveil No Kings protests and routine events using FlockOS, ALPRs, drones, and AI-powered video search.

404 Media reports Flock's training webinars show police how to monitor protests, parades, and fireworks using FlockOS, a platform combining ALPRs, drones, gunshot detectors, 911 data, and third-party cameras. Flock says more than 4,800 cities run FlockOS, and the EFF previously documented multiple law enforcement agencies running Flock searches around No Kings rallies. The reporting suggests Flock's public framing of its ALPR cameras as minimally invasive understates the platform's broader surveillance capabilities.

404 Media · 12d agoOther

Texas Police Used AI to Write Report About Using Flock to Search for Woman Who Had Abortion

Johnson County, Texas deputies used Axon's Draft One AI to write a report about searching 80,000+ Flock cameras for a woman who self-administered an abortion.

Documents show the Johnson County Sheriff's Office used Flock's nationwide camera network and Axon's Draft One, which drafts police reports from body camera audio, in its investigation of a woman's self-administered abortion. The AI-generated report summarized deputies' discussion of legal implications, noting Texas law provided no applicable criminal charges. Flock CEO Garrett Langley has repeatedly claimed the search was a family welfare check, but earlier police reports indicate it was initiated at the behest of the woman's abusive partner.

404 Media · 13d agoAI safety & security

Cops Are Asking Axon to Make Their Cameras Look Different From Flock So People Don't Destroy Them

Axon says police want its ALPR cameras to look different from Flock devices as widespread vandalism and public backlash against Flock spreads.

Axon executives said in an August 26 webinar, later deleted, that law enforcement customers asked for ALPR camera redesigns so they look less like Flock cameras amid widespread vandalism of Flock devices. Some cities are switching from Flock to Axon cameras after reports of police misuse, including lookups for ICE, tracking of a woman who self-administered an abortion, and stalking of ex-spouses. Vandalism of Flock cameras has led to arrests, including a man charged with three felonies for breaking a 3D-printed decoy camera.

404 Media · 13d agoOther

Florida and Texas move to block Flock cameras over privacy concerns

Florida and Texas move to end use of Flock license plate cameras, citing privacy concerns and database misuse by police.

Florida's Department of Transportation said it will cease using license plate readers, such as Flock's cameras, on state highways and has 30 days to remove them, following Governor DeSantis calling the technology 'out of control'. Texas separately ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras, citing abuse including the indictment of a Lufkin officer on 100 felony counts for allegedly searching Flock's database without authorization. Flock operates roughly 130,000 license plate readers across the US, and towns including Evanston, Cambridge, and Eugene report the company reinstalled cameras after contracts were terminated.

TechCrunch · Security · 14d agoPolicy & legal

How an Atlanta Suburb Ended Up Sharing Flock Data With More Than 2,000 Organizations

Alpharetta, Georgia police share Flock surveillance camera data with more than 2,000 organizations, from federal agencies to a fish and wildlife commission.

WIRED reports that police in Alpharetta, Georgia share data from Flock license plate reader cameras with more than 2,000 organizations, including federal agencies and a fish and wildlife commission. The reporting explains how the arrangement came about and illustrates how broadly surveillance data propagates through the Flock network. The story highlights the scale and invasiveness of the camera-sharing ecosystem rather than a specific cyber incident.

WIRED · Security · 18d agoOther

Florida ‘Deputy of the Year’ Used Flock to Stalk Ex, Held Gun in Her Mouth, Did a Nazi Salute

Brevard County deputy resigned after investigation found he used Flock surveillance cameras to stalk his ex-girlfriend and committed misconduct.

Brevard County deputy Michael Fultz, named Deputy of the Year in 2025, resigned after a 43-page internal investigation detailed alleged sexual misconduct, racism, and abuse. The investigation revealed Fultz used the Flock surveillance system to stalk his ex-girlfriend and repeatedly broke the law to promote his motorcycle-themed social media accounts. The story is primarily a law enforcement misconduct matter reported by 404 Media.

404 Media · 19d agoOther

'Darth Vader' Wants Flock in San Diego

A person dressed as Darth Vader praised Flock surveillance technology during public comment at a San Diego city council committee meeting.

During the public comment portion of the San Diego Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee meeting on August 19, a speaker in Darth Vader costume voiced support for Flock surveillance technology. The 404 Media post is paid-member-only and does not reveal the speaker's identity.

404 Media · 26d agoOther

Retail theft bill spurs ‘very large and very dangerous’ surveillance fears

The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act advances toward Senate attachment to the defense bill, drawing ACLU warnings of expanded ICE surveillance powers.

The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) passed the House 348-60 in June, and Senate supporters including Chuck Grassley are pushing to attach it to the annual defense policy bill. The bill would create an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, add criminal penalties for laundering stolen-goods proceeds with a $5,000 charging threshold, and broaden data sharing with retailers. The ACLU, NAACP LDF, and allied groups warn the vaguely drafted provisions would effectively grant DHS access to retail surveillance feeds such as cameras and license plate readers, while industry backers say it only enhances existing information sharing and could help fight cyber-enabled crime.

CyberScoop · 26d agoPolicy & legal1

Police Are Hiding Their Use of Flock Surveillance Cameras

A Flock ALPR usage policy in Wapello County, Iowa instructs police not to disclose their use of license plate reader cameras to the public.

The usage policy for Flock automated license plate reader cameras in Wapello County tells officers not to mention ALPR usage to vehicle occupants and not to include it in reports or complaints unless absolutely necessary. The author compares this secrecy to police concealing use of IMSI-catchers like Stingray two decades ago.

Schneier on Security · 26d agoOther

'I Saw a Shiny Thing': Cop Explains Why He Used License Plate Reader to Stalk Woman

Body camera footage shows Florida officer Lamar Roman used DMV databases and ALPR cameras to stalk a woman; dozens of Flock misuse cases surfaced.

404 Media published body camera footage showing the investigation into officer Lamar Roman, who met a woman on the set of Apple TV's Bad Monkey, then illegally queried DMV databases and placed her plate on an ALPR hot list. He nearly caused a head-on collision while following her and illegally pulled her over, and was later arrested in front of his home. Flock's CEO said the system has caught many abusive officers, and the Washington Post found at least 50 misuse incidents; Roman used Turing's Guardian ALPR system.

404 Media · 26d agoPolicy & legal

Behind the Blog: Endless Scam Parade

404 Media's behind-the-blog discusses Spotify tagging AI-generated artists as a tipping point in platforms algorithmically rejecting AI slop.

404 Media's weekly behind-the-blog post discusses Spotify's decision to tag artists as AI-generated and stop promoting them, arguing it signals a tipping point where platforms and users begin algorithmically rejecting AI slop. It also mentions the mainstreaming of Flock and media appearances. The post is partially paywalled for paid members.

404 Media · Aug 14, 2026AI industry

Podcast: Mark Zuckerberg’s 'Superintelligent' AI Future That No One Wants

404 Media podcast discusses Meta's 'superintelligent' AI agents push, AI posing as human peer reviewers, and cities swapping Flock cameras for Axon.

This 404 Media podcast episode covers Jason Koebler's article on Mark Zuckerberg's 6,500-word essay and plan for Meta AI agents, Emanuel Maiberg's finding that a company advertising '100% human-written, never AI' medical peer review is actually entirely AI-generated, and Joseph Cox's reporting on cities ditching Flock license plate readers only to replace them with Axon ones. The episode is commentary and journalism roundup rather than a security or AI research disclosure.

404 Media · Aug 12, 2026AI industry

The Government is Monitoring Anti

Fusion center bulletins reveal US law enforcement monitoring anti-Flock social media accounts and warning police ahead of the DeFlock Week of Action against license plate readers.

Public records requests by 404 Media and journalist Dan Boguslaw exposed intelligence bulletins from fusion centers in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Florida tracking anti-Flock sentiment, camera vandalism videos, and the DeFlock National Week of Action against automated license plate readers scheduled for August 16-22. The bulletins highlight Instagram accounts like Nomark.Project posting daily camera takedowns, and a device found during a June 25 traffic stop that could locate Flock cameras. Police are advised to increase patrols around ALPR locations and warned about upcoming DeFlock events, including 11 Florida cities signed up. DeFlock creator Will Freeman said the project never called for vandalism and that over 100 surveillance contracts have been canceled through civic engagement.

404 Media · Aug 12, 2026Policy & legal

Appears with

organization 404 Media 7vendor Axon 5product Flock ALPR 2organization Electronic Frontier Foundation 2organization ICE 2organization Flock 2organization CFTC 1organization Brevard County Sheriff's Office 1organization ACLU 1organization DHS 1organization Consumer Action for a Strong Economy 1organization American Trucking Associations 1organization Florida Department of Transportation 1organization Forbes 1organization Community Not Cameras 1organization Fox News 1
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