Flock CEO Says Anti-Flock Backlash Is Not Real, Leaked Audio Shows

Leaked audio obtained by 404 Media captures Flock CEO Garrett Langley telling police chiefs at a private conference that backlash against his company is not real. Langley also said his wife advised him never to apologize and that he would prefer to avoid press interviews. He claimed without evidence that social media opposition to Flock is driven mostly by Russian bots.

Remarks at police conference

Langley made the comments at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Orlando, Florida, during a fireside chat with David Rausch, the association's president and director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. In the audio, Langley said social media chatter about Flock was down about 95 percent from July and dropped 50 percent overnight after Ukraine bombed a Russian data center with a drone. He repeated a disproven theory about bot activity, then said the posts were "anonymous bots" and "not real." He also said protests across the country involve the same people with the same signs and message, calling that "not normal" and "not organic at all." His comments echo another unsubstantiated theory that opposition to Flock comes from a far-left network spreading propaganda at the behest of China.

Scrutiny over Flock's technology

Flock makes automatic license plate readers and other surveillance cameras that scan the license plate, color, make and model of every vehicle that drives past, creating a timestamped log of people's movements. The company has faced extensive media and public scrutiny over police abuse, false arrests and use of the technology for immigration enforcement. Dozens of cities have canceled contracts with Flock over the last 18 months. As backlash grew, Langley began damage control with the media, including apologizing for calling DeFlock, a group that maps the location of Flock cameras, a "terroristic organization." In the leaked audio, he suggested he generally should not apologize, quoting his wife as saying, "you should never apologize," while acknowledging mistakes in the last nine years and this summer.

National search capability

Flock makes ALPR data available to law enforcement customers, who can query it without a warrant. Unlike some other providers, Flock offers a national network, allowing an officer in one part of the country to search cameras not just in their own jurisdiction or state but across the country if other departments have added their cameras. A recent count put the national network at around 80,000 cameras. 404 Media revealed last year that local police were doing lookups in Flock for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and that a Texas police officer searched cameras nationwide for a woman who self-administered an abortion.

Public debate and legislation

404 Media's investigations have triggered a nationwide conversation about whether individual communities want Flock cameras on their roads or inside children's gymnastics classes. Flock has become a meme on TikTok and Instagram, with creators discussing what the cameras do and the issues they raise. Some people have vandalized, destroyed or reverse-engineered Flock cameras, and the government has monitored anti-Flock social media accounts. The conversation has reached Congress, with multiple lawmakers proposing legislation that would ban or dramatically rein in Flock. Langley suggested the opposition will eventually die down, saying highly effective tools go through intense debate before reaching "the other side." Flock did not respond to a request for comment. A competitor, Axon, threw a party at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday night, according to the conference schedule.

Sources: 404 Media