Garrett Langley calls for a public compromise on mass surveillance as citizens and local governments push back against automated license plate readers.
Garrett Langley, the Chief Executive Officer of Flock Safety, is urging the public to find a compromise on mass surveillance. This call comes as citizens, courts, and local governments increasingly push back against the widespread use of automated license plate readers. Flock Safety currently operates over 120,000 cameras across the United States, capturing billions of data points for more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies. However, growing concerns over police misuse and corporate overreach have led to at least 56 municipalities to deactivate or cancel contracts with the company. Public opposition has escalated to physical destruction of camera poles and legal challenges. Investigative reports have revealed instances of where officers used the systems to stalk individuals, such as tracking romantic partners or using the system to track a woman during an abortion investigation under the guise of a missing person search. In response, Flock Safety has introduced mandatory search justifications and reduced its default footage retention window from 30 days to seven days. Langley argues that these measures illuminate police abuse rather than creating it, though some civil liberties groups remain critical of the current reforms.