Flock Safety's Surveillance Network Faces Backlash as States Cut Ties

Garrett Langley, founder of Flock Safety, has built a vast network of automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) that now monitor roads across the United States, with cameras in every state except Alaska. The company, valued at over $8 billion and backed by Andreessen Horowitz, has contracts with about 40% of U.S. law-enforcement agencies. Langley frames surveillance as a necessary trade-off for safety, but critics argue it infringes on privacy and civil liberties. Recent incidents include police misuse, such as stalking and tracking individuals, and ICE using Flock data to target immigrants. In response, Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida have ordered state agencies to stop using Flock cameras. Public opposition is growing, with almost half of Americans opposing ALPRs, and the DeFlock app provides a map of cameras and resources for activists. Langley has called such opposition "terroristic," a remark he later tried to retract. The article also discusses the historical context of privacy law and surveillance, referencing Shoshana Zuboff's "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" and Richard Beck's "Homeland." Privacy advocates argue that mass surveillance is undemocratic and that the technology is being abused. Langley maintains that his role is to build tools and let democratically elected officials decide their use, but critics see a contradiction in his moralizing about safety while disclaiming responsibility for how his products are deployed.