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By Hannah Parry
Associate News Editor
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A growing number of cities and counties across the United States are turning away from Flock Safety's automated license plate reader cameras, as concerns over privacy, police misuse and the sharing of vehicle-location data fuel a nationwide backlash.
At least 56 cities and towns have deactivated, rejected or canceled Flock contracts in 2026 alone, according to a tally by national advocacy group DeFlock. While there is no central government database tracking local decisions, Newsweek's map, based on data from the Institute of Justice and Unsurveilled.Org, as well as local reporting, shows the decisions taken against Flock in towns and counties across the U.S.
The backlash intensified this summer after a series of investigations and police misconduct cases raised new questions about who can search Flock's nationwide network and how that information can be used.
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Flock operates a vast network of automated license plate readers that record passing vehicles' plates and other characteristics. Law enforcement agencies can use the system to search for vehicles associated with investigations, and Flock's network allows data to be searched across participating jurisdictions. Supporters say the cameras have helped solve crimes and locate missing people. Critics say the system amounts to warrantless mass surveillance and creates a detailed record of Americans' movements.
Now, communities that once embraced the technology are reconsidering it.
Tempe Shuts Down its Cameras
The latest high-profile departure came Wednesday in Tempe, Arizona.
The city announced that it had turned off its Flock automated license plate reader system and would end its contract with the company. The cameras are no longer collecting license plate data, and Tempe said it will not seek another company to replace the system.
The city's police department said its Flock system had helped solve crimes but acknowledged the broader concerns raised by misuse of automated license plate readers in Arizona and around the country.
Tempe said it had found no evidence that its own Flock system had been misused. Previously collected data will generally be deleted after 30 days unless it is tied to an ongoing case or investigation.
Texas Communities are Pulling Back
The decisions have accelerated in Texas. On Tuesday, Pflugerville's City Council unanimously voted to terminate its agreement with Flock and deactivate all 28 of its cameras. The decision followed revelations that hundreds of outside organizations had accessed data collected by the city's cameras.
According to public records discussed by council members, nearly 1.6 million searches were conducted by 459 outside organizations using Pflugerville's camera data over a six-month period. The revelations contradicted earlier assurances about how broadly the data could be accessed.
The same day, Kendall County commissioners unanimously voted not to renew a Flock contract covering more than 50 cameras. The contract expires September 30. More than 1,500 people had signed a petition opposing the system, while commissioners cited concerns about trust and data protection.
Elsewhere in Texas, Hood County has also discontinued its Flock contract, while other jurisdictions are reviewing their programs.
Misuse Cases are Driving the Backlash
The concerns aren't limited to theoretical privacy questions. In Lufkin, Texas, a police officer was indicted on 100 felony counts after investigators alleged he improperly used the Flock system more than 45,000 times over roughly 200 days. One license plate was reportedly searched nearly 3,500 times. The department has suspended its use of Flock while investigations continue.
In Massachusetts, a Stow police officer resigned amid an investigation spurred by a complaint alleging unauthorized Flock searches involving someone he knew personally, officials said. The department subsequently severed ties with Flock and removed its cameras.
Those cases have added urgency to concerns from civil-liberties advocates, who argue that a system capable of searching millions of vehicle records requires stronger controls than internal police policies.
Flock Is Changing Its Rules
Flock has responded to the backlash by announcing new safeguards. Beginning January 1, the company says, law enforcement customers will be required to use an auditing system designed to identify abnormal searches. Searches will also have to be associated with case numbers, and the default data-retention period will be reduced from 30 days to seven.
Flock will also allow customers to restrict which categories of crimes outside agencies can use when searching their data, potentially allowing jurisdictions to prevent searches related to immigration enforcement.
Civil-liberties advocates remain skeptical. The Institute for Justice has called the changes inadequate, arguing that the fundamental issue is that police—not judges—generally decide when the database can be searched. The ACLU has similarly questioned whether the new safeguards go far enough.
Canceling Flock Doesn't Always Mean the Cameras Disappear
There's another wrinkle in the map. Some communities that ended Flock contracts have replaced the company with another automated license plate reader provider. The Guardian reported this month that some cities have shifted from Flock to competitors including Axon, meaning residents may lose Flock cameras without actually losing automated vehicle surveillance.
For that reason, Newsweek's map below focuses specifically on communities that have taken action against Flock Safety, rather than treating every cancellation as the end of automated license plate surveillance.
A National Backlash
The cancellations span the political spectrum and include cities, counties, police departments and other local government entities.
The reasons vary. Some communities cite alleged police misuse. Others object to the ability of outside agencies to search their data, immigration-enforcement concerns, Fourth Amendment questions, lack of public oversight, contract or procurement problems or simple opposition from residents.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have criticized Flock Cameras, with Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis saying that the public is “right to be concerned” about Flock-style license plate surveillance and is looking at legislative safeguards. Meanwhile, Representative Delia Ramirez, an Illinois Democrat, warned, “Private tech companies have amassed record-breaking profits off our pain and the use of technology for mass surveillance is a threat to our democracy, civil liberties, and privacy. Congress must stop the ever-expanding surveillance state.”
In some cases, officials have ended contracts even while acknowledging that the cameras were useful to police.
That tension is at the heart of the debate: whether the investigative benefits of automated license plate readers justify building a searchable record of where millions of Americans' vehicles travel.
As more communities face renewal dates, the map is likely to keep changing.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant and Edward T. Cummins.
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