Flock competitors seek to benefit from public backlash : NPR

Key Points:

• A grassroots group, DeFlock DC, is campaigning to end contracts between the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., and Flock Safety, a company providing automated license plate readers (ALPRs) that have raised significant privacy concerns nationwide.
• Flock Safety faces intense public backlash due to its shared national database of license plate images, which allows law enforcement agencies to search vehicle data beyond their jurisdictions, raising fears of pervasive surveillance and misuse, such as investigations into abortion-related travel and stalking incidents.
• Despite Flock's claims of improving community safety and recent policy changes to reduce data retention, many cities have canceled or declined contracts with Flock, with some opting for competitors like Axon, which is capitalizing on Flock's declining reputation by promoting its own privacy safeguards.
• Experts highlight that ALPRs are only one element of a broader police surveillance ecosystem, including facial recognition and predictive policing, which have drawn little public protest despite posing greater privacy risks.
• Privacy advocates warn that switching from Flock to other providers like Axon, which has ties to federal agencies such as ICE, may not alleviate privacy concerns, as the underlying issues of surveillance and data control remain unresolved.