Flock, a company specializing in automated license plate recognition (ALPR) technology, is facing renewed scrutiny and calls for vandalism against its camera network, coinciding with an apology from its CEO regarding system misuse. Social media campaigns are encouraging individuals to disable Flock ALPRs on Halloween 2026, with the "De-Flock America" movement gaining significant traction across platforms, including over 36,500 posts on X within a two-day period.
The calls for action follow a series of controversies surrounding Flock's technology, including reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents accessing local police data without direct contracts, and instances of law enforcement officers allegedly misusing the system to stalk individuals. These incidents have also been accompanied by an increase in physical attacks on Flock cameras.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley publicly apologized after a woman was reportedly stalked using the company's ALPR system. This apology came less than two weeks after a major publication detailed 46 cases of alleged abuse by U.S. police officers accessing Flock's system, some of which involved stalking.
In response to these concerns, Flock announced several changes to its policies and features. The standard data retention period for its ALPR data has been reduced from 30 days to seven days, though customers can opt for longer retention for specific casework through a new "Evidence Mode." The company also introduced controls allowing law enforcement agencies to restrict the types of searches that external forces can conduct on their data, specifically mentioning the ability to block searches related to "immigration enforcement."
Additionally, Flock will make its existing Audit Assistance feature mandatory for all customers by the end of the year. This tool is designed to detect and flag unusual search activity, and the company states it has been linked to the arrests of several officers accused of system abuse. Currently, over a third of Flock's customers have voluntarily enabled this feature.
One specific case highlighted in recent reports involves Haines City police officer Christopher Goodson, 31, who is alleged to have used Flock's system to search for his estranged wife's license plate 717 times between September 1, 2024, and June 30, 2026. Goodson has been suspended with pay pending further investigation into these claims.
Flock's media team, when contacted about the Halloween vandalism campaign, provided an automated response indicating they were on a break. The company has not publicly detailed any specific countermeasures it plans to implement against the proposed vandalism.
