Flock CEO defends cameras amid privacy backlash

Flock’s CEO says it has not dropped police customers and defends surveillance as its audio claims and cancelled contracts draw scrutiny.

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley defended the company’s license-plate cameras and related surveillance amid privacy protests and a national backlash. He said Flock has not dropped any police customers over misuse, though it would end a contract for clear, widespread, or knowing illegal abuse; reporting has identified officers arrested, fired, or told to resign after using the national plate database to stalk people. Flock says it has more than 100,000 U.S. cameras, no direct ICE contract, and is not seeking a sale to Axon. Langley’s claim that gunshot microphones detect “just gunshots” conflicts with company website materials listing street takeovers, severe crashes, fireworks, and sideshows; a spokesperson said detection is primarily for gunfire, can also flag fireworks, sideshows, and potential crashes, and is not designed to monitor speech or screaming. Flock previously withdrew a prototype distress-detection feature after privacy criticism, while Texas, Florida, and Amazon’s Ring have ended relationships with the company. Langley said cancelled contracts and layoffs were partly due to misinformation, including a false belief that the cameras do facial recognition, while acknowledging they can detect and track people and arguing that crime accountability requires privacy trade-offs and that usage decisions should largely rest with city leaders.

• At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley said the company has not ended any law-enforcement contracts over misuse of its license-plate reader network.
• He said Flock would end a contract for clear, widespread, or knowing illegal abuse, but has not done so; reporting has identified officers arrested, fired, or told to resign after using the national plate database to stalk people.
• Flock says it has more than 100,000 U.S. cameras, claims no direct ICE contract, and says it is not seeking a sale to Axon.
• Langley said the company’s microphones detect “just gunshots,” conflicting with website claims that audio systems can also flag street takeovers, severe crashes, fireworks, and sideshows.
• A spokesperson said detection is primarily for gunfire and can identify fireworks, sideshows, and potential crashes, but is not designed to monitor conversations or detect screaming; Flock earlier withdrew a prototype distress-detection…
• Langley compared Flock’s microphone count with ShotSpotter’s roughly 25,000 devices as of 2024; Texas, Florida, and Amazon’s Ring have pulled back from Flock amid ACLU scrutiny.
• Langley said cancelled contracts and layoffs were partly driven by misinformation, including a false belief that the cameras perform facial recognition, while acknowledging the cameras can detect and track people.
• He argued crime accountability requires privacy trade-offs, said Flock is far from perfect, and indicated the company would minimize mandated policies and leave usage decisions to city leaders.