Documented Incident
Flock Safety Announces Privacy Changes as Texas Officials Push for Legislative Guardrails
First reported: August 14, 2026 · 1 source
Flock Safety announced a set of product changes including a new default seven-day data retention period (down from 30 days), an "Evidence Mode" for preserving ALPR data in active investigations, offense-based filtering for inter-agency sharing, mandatory "Audit Assistance" abuse-detection and case codes for all law enforcement users by year's end, and clearer contract explanations. Texas officials including U.S. Rep. Keith Self (R-McKinney) and State Sen. Bob Hall said the changes were welcome but insufficient without statutory warrant requirements. Self has filed the PRIVACY Act, which would require federal law enforcement to obtain a warrant before accessing or querying state and local ALPR data; the bill has not been enacted. County Republican parties in Waller and Rusk counties have passed resolutions calling for guardrails on the technology.
The debate tests whether vendor-set defaults and internal audit tools can substitute for legally binding limits, a question facing every jurisdiction that has deployed ALPR networks. Texas lawmakers' response could set a template for how states define retention, sharing, and warrant rules.
Key facts
- Flock's new default retention setting is 7 days, replacing the prior 30-day default; the company said its analysis found searches without a full plate are completed within a week.
- "Audit Assistance" flags abnormal activity for administrator review; Flock will require all law enforcement users to adopt it, along with case codes, by the end of the year.
- Rep. Keith Self's PRIVACY Act, filed last month, would require federal warrants for querying state and local ALPR data. It is a proposal, not law.
- Waller County GOP precinct chair Josh Posey argued that Carpenter and Chatrie make warrantless aggregate location tracking unconstitutional — a legal interpretation attributed to him, not a court ruling on ALPRs.
- The Texas House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency was scheduled to meet August 19 to study data privacy and security.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- New Flock Camera Reforms Announced Amid Privacy Backlash (texasscorecard.com, August 14, 2026)
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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 15, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.