Hundreds of cities, counties and other local governments have begun canceling contracts with Flock Safety, according to The Verge’s interview with researcher Benn Jordan. The retreat is part of growing bipartisan resistance to automatic license plate reader networks and has now reached Congress.
The Verge says Jordan recently testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing focused on Flock and other ALPR systems. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is also reportedly investigating the company, although the scope of that inquiry was not detailed.
Separately, the host cited a Reuters report that Flock plans to reduce its workforce by about 18 percent. The interview does not establish that the planned cuts resulted from the contract cancellations.
Local contracts turn surveillance into a municipal issue
Flock supplies cameras and related software used to read license plates automatically. Jordan, a musician, YouTuber, researcher and self-described investigative journalist, says he began examining the network after noticing cameras around Atlanta, where he lives.
His central objection is not limited to the technology itself. Jordan argues that residents cannot individually opt out of an ALPR network and are rarely given a direct vote before deployment. He also says the costs ultimately reach residents through property taxes.
That structure places practical decisions with local governments and law-enforcement agencies. Contract approvals, renewals and cancellations can therefore determine whether a community continues using the system, while residents’ influence is exercised through municipal politics rather than an individual privacy setting.
Jordan says opposition to surveillance deployments has increased participation in local government. He points to Asheville, North Carolina, where he believes dissatisfaction with surveillance policy could help produce a new mayor. That remains his prediction, not an election result.
He also describes a reversal by an unnamed Democratic candidate for Georgia governor, who Jordan says called for removing Flock cameras after previously welcoming the company while serving as Atlanta’s mayor.
Criticism extends beyond Flock Safety
Jordan does not portray Flock as the only company building this type of network. He identifies Axon and Motorola as competitors with comparable systems, describing Flock as the easiest target because of its visibility and combative response to criticism.
According to Jordan, Flock CEO Garrett Langley publicly referred to critics as “left-wing terrorists.” Jordan considers that response a major communications failure, although he says the people he has met at the company do not resemble the impression created by online clips. The Verge’s host says Flock’s communication strategy has since changed.
Jordan frames the broader problem as the relationship among private vendors, governments and police agencies. In his assessment, secrecy within that relationship prevents residents from understanding or meaningfully influencing surveillance decisions. That concern would remain even if communities replaced Flock with another ALPR supplier.
Security research is not the focus of the current dispute
The Verge says Jordan communicates directly with Flock, including Langley, and reports security vulnerabilities when he identifies them. The discussion does not connect those findings to a breach or unauthorized access. Its focus is instead oversight, transparency and the political legitimacy of deploying surveillance infrastructure through local contracts.
For residents, the immediate consequence is local rather than technical: municipalities are reconsidering agreements, Congress is examining the industry, and Flock is reportedly preparing a substantial workforce reduction. The contract cancellations also show that decisions about ALPR deployment can be reversed through pressure on the public bodies that purchase the systems.
