For Immediate Release
S.T.O.P. Condemns New Flock AI Tools, Calls Company Safeguards "Crisis PR Stunt"
(New York, NY, 8/19/2026) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a privacy and civil rights group, condemned Flock's newly-revealed AI surveillance capabilities that go further than the company’s highly controversial license plate scanning. Reporting by WIRED shared that Flock’s next-generation platform, currently in testing with some police, is using AI to flag drivers’ associates, track movement patterns, and pull together police case files, commercial identity records, and other highly sensitive data to build profiles of individuals never charged with a crime. The software also allows officers to create geofences, drawing designated areas on a map to search for individuals based on physical descriptions. S.T.O.P. condemned Flock’s recently announced guardrails as a “crisis pr stunt,” stating the company’s new internal auditing tools and 7-day data retention period fall far short in protecting civilians from abuse of the technology.
SEE: WIRED - Flock's New AI Tool Is Investigating You https://www.wired.com/story/flock-safety-os-investigate/
Associated Press - Flock Safety Announces Changes Amid Backlash Over License Plate Reader Network
https://apnews.com/article/flock-license-plate-cameras-surveillance-deflock-2a93bc075e2f7ffcca9e04a35d75a3fe
“Flock isn't fixing a broken system, it's building an even worse one,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Michelle Dahl. “These new AI tools don't just track where your car has been, they let police guess who you know, where you're going, and why — all without a warrant. Flock knows people around the country, across the political spectrum, are fed up with its dystopian surveillance. The company’s new so-called safeguards are purely a crisis PR stunt, especially as they roll out even more invasive software.”
Flock’s new AI tools and platform updates come amid nationwide backlash against the firm. In New York State, S.T.O.P. is a lead advocate for S9890/A10808, legislation that would restrict the use of ALPRs to narrow purposes, demand deletion of routine scans within 48 hours, limit data‑sharing across state lines, require a warrant to access ALPR information from data brokers, and impose other meaningful safeguards against the technology.
SEE: Washington Post - Vandals Are Destroying License-Plate Cameras as Anger Over Surveillance Rises https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/08/18/vandals-are-destroying-license-plate-cameras-amid-anger-over-surveillance/
NYS Senate - S9890/A10808
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A10808
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.
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