Story perspectives

Flock Safety Cuts ALPR Data Retention to Seven Days

8/21/2026

Summary

Flock Safety Cuts Retention

Flock Safety reduced default data retention from 30 days to seven days, citing privacy.
Approximately 7,000 agencies, about 40% of U.S. police, operate Flock Safety’s 120,000-camera ALPR network.
Vigilantes cut poles, shot lenses, and sprayed foam after locating sites on the DeFlock platform.
Bandera, Texas, and several Silicon Valley towns have banned Flock Safety cameras.
The ACLU called the retention change a thinly-veiled PR attempt and urged stricter limits.

Summary

Hawley Leads Hearing

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on surveillance pricing.
The FTC released a proposed enforcement policy stating disclosed personalized pricing may still be unfair.
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act passed the House 348-60 and seeks inclusion in the defense policy bill.
ACLU senior counsel Nina Patel warned the bill could expand ICE’s surveillance network.

History

Historical Context

In 1978, the United States Supreme Court decided Katz v. United States, establishing that the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places, with a 7-1 vote. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the majority, stressing warrant needs for eavesdropping, a rule echoed in the 2001 Patriot Act’s Section 215, which permitted 5 billion records annually. Today, Flock Safety’s reduction of ALPR data retention and Senator Josh Hawley’s surveillance pricing hearing echo Katz’s warning that unchecked monitoring erodes privacy. If courts apply Katz’s standard, future rulings may compel companies like Flock Safety to impose stricter limits, while legislators could face heightened ACLU challenges.

1 of 3

Flock Safety Cuts Retention

Flock Safety reduced default data retention from 30 days to seven days, citing privacy.
Approximately 7,000 agencies, about 40% of U.S. police, operate Flock Safety’s 120,000-camera ALPR network.
Vigilantes cut poles, shot lenses, and sprayed foam after locating sites on the DeFlock platform.
Bandera, Texas, and several Silicon Valley towns have banned Flock Safety cameras.
The ACLU called the retention change a thinly-veiled PR attempt and urged stricter limits.

1 / 3