🚨Flock Admits Lying About ALPR Heat Maps and Data Sharing
Flock's Lies Exposed: Heat Maps & ICE Access
TL;DR
Flock, an ALPR company, admitted to lying about its operations. The system creates heat maps showing vehicle movements over time and shares data with federal agencies like ICE.
Flock, an automatic license plate reader (ALPR) company, has been caught in a web of lies regarding the capabilities of its systems and how it handles data sharing with law enforcement and federal agencies. The company initially told Oshkosh City Council that its ALPR system did not create heat maps or patterns of individual vehicle movements. However, Flock later admitted to creating such heat maps for up to an entire month. This revelation has led to the revocation of a contract with the city after it was discovered that Flock had misled officials about its operations. The company’s dishonesty extends beyond just Oshkosh; reports have shown that Flock has contracts allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security (DHS) direct access to license plate data through pilot projects. Despite claims of compliance, the system continues to be used by local police departments for tracking individuals seeking abortion care in other states, highlighting serious privacy concerns. Flock’s new “Proactive Search Term Tool” is meant to strengthen compliance but has proven ineffective due to vague search terms entered by law enforcement officers, such as 'investigation' or even 'hehehe'. This tool was supposed to prevent misuse of the ALPR data but clearly failed in its purpose.
Key Points
Oshkosh City Council approved a Flock contract but revoked it after discovering the company lied about its ALPR operations.
Flock admitted creating heat maps of individual vehicles' movements for up to an entire month.
The company has contracts with CBP and DHS, allowing direct access to license plate data through pilot projects.
Local police in Texas used Flock's system to track individuals seeking abortion care in Illinois.
Police departments frequently enter vague search terms like 'investigation' or 'hehehe', undermining compliance efforts.
Why It Matters
Flock’s dishonesty and ineffective compliance measures affect local law enforcement agencies that rely on ALPR data. The misuse of such systems can lead to serious privacy violations, especially in sensitive areas like abortion care tracking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this matter?
Flock’s dishonesty and ineffective compliance measures affect local law enforcement agencies that rely on ALPR data. The misuse of such systems can lead to serious privacy violations, especially in sensitive areas like abortion care tracking.
What happened?
Flock, an ALPR company, admitted to lying about its operations. The system creates heat maps showing vehicle movements over time and shares data with federal agencies like ICE.
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