Documented Incident
Flock CEO Says Company Has Made Mistakes During TechCrunch Disrupt Appearance in San Francisco
First reported: October 15, 2026 · 1 source
Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley appeared at TechCrunch Disrupt at Moscone West in San Francisco and told interviewer Connie Loizos that the company is "far from perfect" and that he has made mistakes, amid sustained criticism of automated license plate reader surveillance. Langley said Flock has not terminated any customer contracts to date but that doing so remains possible, and that the company would cut off a customer that knowingly broke the law. He disputed the characterization that cities are abandoning the platform en masse, saying some have switched to competitors such as Axon. The appearance came as reporting cited an SFPD audit finding 299 improper searches of the city's Flock system over roughly a year.
Flock's network now spans tens of thousands of cameras in communities nationwide, and the company's public responses to audits, cancellations and data-retention criticism set expectations for how ALPR vendors answer to the jurisdictions that buy their systems.
Key facts
- Langley said Flock operates more than 100,000 cameras nationally; Yahoo Finance reported roughly 120,000 across 49 states.
- An SFPD audit identified 299 improper queries of San Francisco's Flock system over about a year, according to KTVU; the city runs nearly 500 Flock cameras and related devices per The San Francisco Standard.
- Flock reduced its default license plate data retention period from 30 days to seven, confirmed by USA Today in August.
- Yahoo Finance reported Flock plans to cut about 18% of its workforce, roughly 270 employees; Reuters/Ipsos polling it cited found 38% of Americans support Flock cameras locally and 47% oppose them.
- Flock says it does not do business directly with ICE or CBP and ended federal trial projects last year; critics say immigration authorities have still obtained Flock data through state and local agencies.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- Flock CEO Admits Mistakes at SF Conference as Protesters Chant Outside Moscone (Hoodline, October 15, 2026)
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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 October 17, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.