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Stanford, Macon County End Flock Safety ALPR Contracts

8/13/2026

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Jurisdictions End Flock

In July–August 2026, several U.S. jurisdictions—including Stanford University and Macon County—ended contracts with Flock Safety’s license-plate camera system.
Officials said the terminations stem from privacy-law violations and data-sharing concerns, prompting a bill to limit ALPR data storage to 30 days.
Stanford installed Genetec Cloudrunner cameras that keep images under one hour and block third-party access.
DeFlock’s tracker logged 20 jurisdictions halting Flock cameras in July, the highest total since 2021.

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Jurisdictions Drop Flock

Stanford University and Macon County, Georgia, ended their contracts with Flock Safety’s license-plate camera system in July–August 2026.
The cancellations underscore mounting public alarm about pervasive surveillance and data-privacy risks posed by the nationwide camera network.
Flock Safety operates over 120,000 cameras nationwide, linking them into a searchable law-enforcement database.
Residents in Houston, Oakland and Grand Junction have cut, painted, or shot cameras in protest.

History

Historical Context

The 2012 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Jones, where Justice Scalia’s majority held that attaching a GPS tracker for 28 days without a warrant violated the Fourth Amendment, set a precedent for limiting electronic surveillance. Building on that precedent, Stanford University and Macon County, Georgia, terminated their 2026 contracts with Flock Safety’s ALPR system to avoid privacy-law breaches.

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Jurisdictions End Flock

In July–August 2026, several U.S. jurisdictions—including Stanford University and Macon County—ended contracts with Flock Safety’s license-plate camera system.
Officials said the terminations stem from privacy-law violations and data-sharing concerns, prompting a bill to limit ALPR data storage to 30 days.
Stanford installed Genetec Cloudrunner cameras that keep images under one hour and block third-party access.
DeFlock’s tracker logged 20 jurisdictions halting Flock cameras in July, the highest total since 2021.

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