{"id":5031,"date":"2026-08-13T13:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T13:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/flock-boss-admits-surveillance-firm-took-too-long-to-act-over-police-abuse\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T13:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T13:34:09","slug":"flock-boss-admits-surveillance-firm-took-too-long-to-act-over-police-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/flock-boss-admits-surveillance-firm-took-too-long-to-act-over-police-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Flock boss admits surveillance firm took too long to act over police abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Flock boss admits surveillance firm took too long to act over police abuse<\/p>\n<div data-block=\"headline\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-usmnse-Spacer e1aon0op0\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1ws2a2y-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg.webp 976w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Flock founder and chief executive Garrett Langley wearing a blue suit jacket and green shirt\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a4LdPK.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/8948\/live\/14cb2100-9715-11f1-bb91-6bb44c42ed47.jpg 976w\" width=\"990\" height=\"557\" class=\"ssrcss-egie1y-Image edrdn950\"><\/picture><\/span><span role=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-tzgxt7-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"byline\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"single-byline\" class=\"ssrcss-sevsa1-ContributorContainer ee66fvo3\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dt4z-ContributorInfo ee66fvo0\"><span class=\"ssrcss-nsjd43-TextContributorName epw3ir01\">Kali Hays<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dqo7s5-ContributorDetails ee66fvo2\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1m5444d-Text ee66fvo4\">Technology reporter<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"metadata\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"metadata\">\n<div>\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-9tw7r1-MetadataStripContainer eh44mf03\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-10q9h22-GroupChildrenForWrapping eh44mf02\">\n<li role=\"listitem\" class=\"ssrcss-sf7vdp-MetadataStripItem eh44mf01\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-m5j4pi-MetadataContent eh44mf00\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pvwv4b-MetadataSnippet e4wm5bw3\"><span class=\"ssrcss-61mhsj-MetadataText e4wm5bw1\"><time data-testid=\"timestamp\" datetime=\"2026-08-13T13:02:24.814Z\">30 minutes ago<\/time><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Flock, the US surveillance firm, is rolling out new safeguards to prevent police misuse of its technology which, its founder and chief executive admits, should have happened sooner.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Police have used Flock to track romantic partners and stalk strangers, leading to growing public backlash against the company. It has also been used to find stolen cars and missing people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Asked whether it had taken Flock too long to protect tens of thousands of its cameras, licence plate readers and drones from police abuse, Garrett Langley said: &#8220;Yeah&#8230; yes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Flock is cutting the number of days most data is retained, from 30 days to seven and abnormal searches and uses will also automatically be flagged. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Flock cameras have been used by police to not only track former and current romantic partners, but in one case, even a woman who had had an abortion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Police across the US have quit or been fired for misuse of the technology. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A man in Indiana recently told local news he found out through a public records request that police had set a Flock alert for his vehicle, despite not being suspected of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">At least 50 cities have this year cut ties with Flock due to a public backlash. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">However, Langley told the BBC that another 16 cities that had turned off Flock services have in the last three months come back to the company. Generally, it&#8217;s running at a 7:1 ratio of new customers to lost customers, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-k2a6wb-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg.webp 976w\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"An unobtrusive and black Flock camera attached to a pole near an intersection in Washington DC.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/rfz25Z.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/219b\/live\/2b575fd0-95e2-11f1-9aa1-077095b3ce50.jpg 976w\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2159.8408136192793\" class=\"ssrcss-egie1y-Image edrdn950\"><\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Langley said that, just six months ago, he asked in a meeting of the company&#8217;s board why there seemed to be a growing public focus on Flock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This was around the time that<b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\"> <\/b>Amazon&#8217;s Ring, a doorbell camera firm, cancelled a partnership with Flock after an outcry over a Super Bowl advert which sparked concern about unwanted surveillance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Historically, my point of view as a chief executive of a private company was, I don&#8217;t know if I should be making these decisions. I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s my job to say how long data should be retained,&#8221; Langley said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He added that he has come to agree with groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation that police should need an active case number to search Flock&#8217;s data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;They&#8217;re right. I think it should be required.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">He added: &#8220;Our employees and communities have said loud and clear, they expect companies like Flock to have a stronger point of view as the expert. I resisted that because I didn&#8217;t want to have that responsibility.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Langley has now accepted that responsibility. At the same time as he is strengthening Flock&#8217;s safeguards, he is pitching his company&#8217;s products as crucial to combatting crime and improving policing in the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Cities that don&#8217;t use Flock are effectively choosing &#8220;to be less safe&#8221;, he claimed. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Nevertheless, he does not deny that Flock has been misused by members of law enforcement. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;We&#8217;re only as good as the data coming in,&#8221; Langley said. &#8220;When you see these cases of wrongful arrest, the data was bad and the officer failed to follow the rules. But it&#8217;s easier to pick a villain that&#8217;s a company like us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"subheadline\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-usmnse-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"subheadline\">\n<h2 id=\"Easy-villain\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"ssrcss-1sc9t00-Heading e10rt3ze0\"><span role=\"text\">&#8216;Easy villain&#8217;<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Langley said that, with clearly visible cameras in cities and neighbourhoods, the public increasingly sees the firm as an outlet for their growing concerns about privacy and technology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Because you can see our cameras, it&#8217;s easier to get mad,&#8221; Langley said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In the US, there is no comprehensive law protecting or governing the collection, use or sale of people&#8217;s personal data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Langley mentioned a woman he recently met in Cleveland who was vociferously against Flock in her community. When he asked her why she disliked the technology so much, she told him it was ultimately a tool for police to &#8220;abuse their power.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It turned out that police &#8220;kind of feel the same way&#8221; as her, Langley said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Conversations he had with police would often turn to officers saying of their colleagues &#8216;we knew that person was not good. We had no way to prove it&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">That resulted in the new audit feature for Flock, which was released as an option earlier this year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It automatically creates an audit log of searches being done on Flock, and flags unusual search behaviour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Most police customers turned on the feature when it became an option. Misuse proved so rampant that Langley decided Flock needed to make the audit feature standard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Officers who abuse their position are &#8220;horrible&#8221;, Langley said, adding that they should be punished with more than just dismissal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;If anyone is going to be the one that spearheads getting rid of abusive cops? Sign me up,&#8221; Langley said. &#8220;We trust these individuals with deadly weapons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I think a camera is very far from a deadly weapon, but I would say it&#8217;s a very powerful tool. We should hold it incredibly accountable.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"topicList\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-tcr9z1-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"topic-list\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nj9heb-StyledTagContainer ed0g1kj1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pfbb52-TopicListHeaderWrapper etw6iwl0\">\n<h2 type=\"normal\" class=\"ssrcss-89o2pv-Heading e10rt3ze0\">Related topics<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17ehax8-Cluster e1ihwmse1\">\n<ul role=\"list\" spacing=\"2\" class=\"ssrcss-w8zanw-ClusterItems e1ihwmse0\">\n<li>Surveillance<\/li>\n<li>Policing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Published at Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:02:24 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flock boss admits surveillance firm took too long to act over police abuse Getty Images Kali Hays Technology reporter 30 minutes ago Flock, the US surveillance firm, is rolling out new safeguards to prevent police misuse of its technology which, its founder and chief executive admits, should have happened sooner. Police have used Flock to&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/flock-boss-admits-surveillance-firm-took-too-long-to-act-over-police-abuse\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Flock boss admits surveillance firm took too long to act over police abuse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}