Flock Safety Weighs a Potential Sale, Semafor Reports

Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based company behind a nationwide network of license-plate-reading cameras, is weighing whether to sell itself, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has held conversations with outside advisers, and the talks are described as preliminary: no decision has been made about whether to move forward with a sale process. A Flock spokesperson declined to comment.

What the report says

Semafor published the report on September 23. Its sources say Flock's technology and camera network could appeal to rivals such as Axon, the taser maker that runs its own network of automated license-plate readers and supplies cameras for police vehicles and officers, or Motorola Solutions, which competes with Axon.

Flock was founded in 2017 and has grown quickly in recent years as more police departments, businesses and homeowner associations adopted its license-plate readers.

The surveillance backlash

The sale talks come amid a national debate in the US over surveillance data and public safety: dozens of Flock cameras have been destroyed in a backlash known as the “DeFlock” movement, and earlier reports said rogue police officers used the company's data to track and stalk people.

Flock has since rolled out new safeguards for its camera data and cut its default video retention window from 30 days to seven days.

The company says its cameras have helped save thousands of lives and reduce crime in the communities where they operate. “In public safety, the benefits far, far outweigh the concerns,” Flock board member David Ulevitch said on Semafor's Compound Interest show earlier this year.