The expanding Surveillance Network of Flock Safety: A 2025 Review & What It Means for Your Rights
Flock Safety has rapidly become a dominant player in law enforcement surveillance, equipping cities wiht automated licence plate readers (ALPRs) and, increasingly, audio surveillance technology. But beneath the promise of enhanced public safety lies a growing concern: this infrastructure isn’t neutral. Our investigations throughout 2025 at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) revealed a pattern of abuse, privacy violations, and a chilling effect on essential rights. This article details those findings,outlines the growing resistance,and explains what we’re doing to protect your digital freedoms.
Understanding the Rise of Flock Safety
Flock Safety markets itself as a tool to help police solve crimes. However, the reality is far more complex. Their network, comprised of cameras and microphones installed across communities, collects vast amounts of data on everyday citizens – data that is frequently enough shared in ways that violate privacy and disproportionately impact vulnerable populations.
Key findings from EFF’s 2025 Investigations
Our work throughout the year uncovered several alarming trends regarding Flock Safety’s practices:
* Data Sharing Violations: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched an audit following our research demonstrating that Flock allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) access to Illinois data, directly contravening state privacy laws. This highlights a concerning lack of control over who accesses sensitive details.
* warrantless Surveillance: A lawsuit filed in partnership with the ACLU of Northern California challenged San jose’s police department over its warrantless searches of over 3.9 million ALPR records between June 2024 and June 2025. This staggering number underscores the scale of unchecked surveillance enabled by Flock’s technology.
* Disproportionate Impact: The data collected by Flock Safety isn’t applied equally. Our research consistently points to discriminatory policing practices, potential for immigration enforcement, and threats to reproductive rights – especially impacting women, immigrants, and other vulnerable Americans.
* Expansion into Audio Surveillance: Perhaps the most concerning progress of 2025 was Flock’s announcement of plans to expand its gunshot detection microphones to listen for “human distress,” including screaming. This effectively transforms public spaces into areas of constant audio monitoring.
Communities Fight Back: Victories Against Surveillance
Despite the rapid expansion of Flock’s network, communities are organizing and pushing back. Fueled by our research, grassroots movements are successfully challenging this surveillance infrastructure.
Here are just a few examples:
* austin, Texas: Organizers successfully canceled the city’s Flock ALPR contract.
* Evanston, Illinois: Contract termination talks persisted after cameras were reinstalled, with the city issuing a cease-and-desist order.
* Eugene, Oregon: The city opted to cancel its Flock Safety contracts, recognizing the threat to civil liberties.
These victories demonstrate the power of informed communities armed with evidence of the harms caused by unchecked surveillance.
The Danger of “Always-Listening” Microphones
Flock’s move to incorporate “distress” detection through audio monitoring is a significant escalation.Initially marketed as listening for “screaming,” Flock quietly revised its language to “distress” after EFF exposed the feature. However, the core issue remains:
* wiretapping Concerns: High-powered microphones constantly monitoring public spaces raise serious legal questions regarding wiretapping laws.
* False Positives & Misinterpretation: The potential for misinterpreting sounds and triggering unneeded police responses is substantial.
* Chilling Effect on Free Speech: knowing you are being constantly listened to can discourage individuals from exercising their right to protest or engage in other constitutionally protected activities.
Looking Ahead: Protecting Your Rights in 2026
Flock Safety’s technology isn’t a neutral public safety tool.it’s a system that amplifies existing biases within law enforcement, threatens fundamental rights, and chills free expression. Our investigations in 2025 have definitively proven this.
As we move into 2026, EFF remains committed to:
* Exposing Abuses: Continuing to investigate and reveal the ways Flock Safety’s technology is misused.
* Supporting Community Resistance: Providing resources and legal support to communities fighting back against surveillance.
* Litigating for Constitutional Protections: challenging surveillance practices in
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