Pflugerville Cancels Flock Contract After Unauthorized Data Searches Revealed
A records request in Pflugerville, Texas revealed that over six months, outside agencies accessed the city's data from its license plate recognition system (ALPR) provider, Flock, more than 1.6 million times—far exceeding internal usage by local police. The discovery led to the cancellation of Flock’s contract and the deactivation of its cameras last week. The resident who filed the request found that 459 different agencies accessed Pflugerville's data during this period, averaging nearly 8,900 searches per day. In contrast, local police conducted only about 5,078 searches in the same timeframe—highlighting a significant imbalance and raising privacy concerns. Flock had previously claimed that only two unauthorized agencies were improperly included but did not account for hundreds more accessing data without clear justification.
Topics: Government Contracts Privacy Surveillance Technology