ACLU counts more than 70 municipalities ending Flock contracts amid bipartisan pushback

First reported: August 11, 2026 · 1 source

Morning Brew reported on August 11, 2026 that opposition to Flock Safety's automated license plate readers has spread across party lines, with the ACLU counting more than 70 municipalities — from Los Angeles to small Virginia towns — that have stopped working with the company in recent months. The report notes that some of those jurisdictions have reportedly switched to other ALPR vendors rather than abandoning the technology. Flock has more than 120,000 readers installed nationwide and is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies, some college campuses and homeowners associations. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has praised the technology, while critics describe it as a system open to warrantless abuse.

Why this matters

The scale of contract cancellations, and the fact that they span politically different communities, gives other local officials a body of precedent to cite when weighing ALPR renewals. It also raises the question of whether cancellations reduce surveillance or simply shift it to a different vendor.

Key facts

The ACLU counts more than 70 municipalities that have stopped working with Flock in recent months; some reportedly switched to other ALPR providers.
The Washington Post reported that at least 50 police officers have been accused of misusing Flock or similar systems, mostly to stalk women — accusations, not adjudicated findings.
Flock says it does not work with ICE, but some departments can grant immigration agencies access; audit data cited for Columbus, Ohio shows 15,000+ potential immigration-related searches since 2024.
404 Media reported police used Flock to arrest a Wisconsin man for marijuana possession after tracking travel to and from Michigan, where cannabis is legal.
Amazon-owned Ring ended its partnership with Flock in February; a grassroots group, DeFlock, maps camera locations, and vigilantes are reportedly disabling devices.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Backlash to Flock cameras is now a bipartisan issue (Morning Brew, August 11, 2026)

About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated August 11, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.