Flock Safety instituting new privacy measures in response to backlash

Key Points:

• Flock Safety announced significant privacy and security reforms, including reducing its data retention period from 30 days to seven, in response to consumer backlash and reports of law enforcement misuse of its AI-powered license plate readers.
• The company introduced "Evidence Mode," allowing law enforcement to preserve data longer based on local policies, and gave agencies control over which criminal offenses' data can be shared with other municipalities.
• To prevent abuse, Flock is making its Audit Assistance feature mandatory, which flags abnormal search behavior and locks users out until reviewed, and now requires a mandatory reason or case code for every search, with exceptions for emergencies.
• Despite these reforms, privacy advocates like the ACLU criticized the changes as insufficient and primarily a public relations effort, while some officials have called for a moratorium on the use of Flock's cameras amid ongoing privacy concerns.