Texas city demands $2M for public records on Flock usage
Prices of public records tracking cops’ use of Flock go up as backlash swells.
TL;DR
- Cities are imposing steep fees, sometimes millions of dollars, for public records concerning police use of Flock AI-enabled camera systems.
- One Texas city, North Richland Hills, requested $2.3 million for data on Flock system errors, misuse, and effectiveness.
- The high fees are seen by privacy advocates as attempts to stifle public records requests and hide potential abuses of the technology.
- Examples of Flock misuse include officers stalking individuals and wrongful arrests based on system alerts.
- A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that a police officer conducted an unconstitutional search by accessing a Flock database without a warrant, though this ruling is not yet precedent.
- Despite Flock's claims of public safety, concerns persist about privacy risks, potential data breaches, and the lack of transparency regarding camera locations, data access, and storage.
- Few agencies are utilizing Flock's transparency portals, with only a small fraction sharing data publicly.