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🚨Flock Shortens Data Retention to Seven Days Amid Vandalism

ALPRs face vandalism as Flock tightens data security

TL;DR

De-Flock America campaign encourages vandalism of Flock's license plate readers. The company responds with reduced data retention and new controls to prevent misuse by law enforcement.

De-Flock America is encouraging people to vandalize Flock’s automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems on Halloween, a move that has already seen over 36,500 posts on social media. In response, Flock has reduced its standard data retention period from 30 days to seven and introduced new controls to prevent misuse by law enforcement. This change is crucial for anyone concerned about privacy and the potential abuse of ALPR technology.

Flock Shortens Data Retention to Seven Days Amid Vandalism — theregister

Key Points

1

De-Flock America campaign has over 36,500 social media posts encouraging vandalism of Flock's ALPR systems

2

Flock reduces standard data retention period from 30 days to seven days

3

New 'Evidence Mode' allows law enforcement to retain data beyond the seven-day limit for ongoing casework

4

Audit Assistance feature will become mandatory by year-end, detecting unusual search activity and flagging it for review

5

Over a third of customers have already opted in to Audit Assistance since its introduction

Why It Matters

If you're concerned about privacy or the misuse of ALPR technology, Flock's changes are significant. The reduction from 30 days to seven limits data exposure but still allows for necessary casework retention. However, smaller agencies may face challenges in implementing these new controls effectively.

FlockALPRvandalismdata-retentionlaw-enforcement

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this matter?

If you're concerned about privacy or the misuse of ALPR technology, Flock's changes are significant. The reduction from 30 days to seven limits data exposure but still allows for necessary casework retention. However, smaller agencies may face challenges in implementing these new controls effectively.

What happened?

De-Flock America campaign encourages vandalism of Flock's license plate readers. The company responds with reduced data retention and new controls to prevent misuse by law enforcement.

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