Flock, the police technology company behind a vast network of license plate readers, announced new measures on Thursday aimed at curbing misuse of its surveillance tools. The changes come after investigations revealed officers using the system for stalking and harassment, and as some cities cancel contracts over privacy concerns.

The company will now require officers to enter a criminal case number before conducting a search, a feature previously optional. Flock is also making its automatic auditing system mandatory, which flags suspicious search activity to administrators. The firm says these steps are designed to ensure searches have legitimate purposes.

However, civil liberties advocates point out that similar safeguards have been bypassed before. The ACLU found that when officers were asked to provide a reason for searches, some used generic terms or mocked the prompt, with one Oregon department entering "hehehe" 20 times. Since Flock does not verify case numbers, critics argue the new requirement may be easily circumvented.

Advertisement

Flock is also recommending that agencies retain data for seven days instead of 30, though departments can choose to keep it longer. Additionally, agencies can now restrict other departments' access to their camera data based on stated purposes, such as allowing searches for kidnapping investigations but not immigration enforcement.

The backlash against Flock has grown from multiple directions. Some cities have dropped contracts, and a few states have banned license plate readers altogether. Flock CEO Garrett Langley attributes the loss of customers to misinformation, saying people mistakenly believe the company uses facial recognition or sells data commercially. Critics, however, have accused Flock of misleading decision-makers about its technology's capabilities.

ACLU senior policy counsel Chad Marlow said the backlash stems from the scale of surveillance enabled by Flock's network. "In America, you only get to investigate someone if you think they've done something wrong," he said, adding that the technology allows officers to investigate people without establishing suspicion of a crime. He questioned whether catching criminals justifies "eviscerating Americans' privacy."

Marlow acknowledged the new rules are a step forward but noted that independent evaluation is needed to assess their effectiveness. "Flock has come to the table because this incredible, unprecedented nationwide uprising against their company has scared them," he said. "But at the same time, they are just absolutely unwilling to make the actual changes they need to make."

Source: MIT Technology Review