Schumer letter presses Flock Safety on National Lookup Tool, hacked camera and data retention

Event: October 11, 2026 · First reported: October 11, 2026 · 2 sources

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, D-NY, sent a letter to Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley seeking answers about the company's National Lookup Tool, which allows agencies to search license plate reader data gathered outside their own jurisdictions. Schumer's office said he also asked how much camera data sits on Flock servers, whether any federal agency has accessed it directly or through local police, and urged the company to delete personal data not linked to a crime. The letter requested a response by Oct. 16. The article does not report any response from Flock to the letter.

Why this matters

A senior federal lawmaker's inquiry into cross-jurisdictional ALPR searches and data security tests how much a private surveillance vendor will disclose about who queries its network, a question facing every community that hosts Flock cameras.

Key facts

Schumer's letter to CEO Garrett Langley requested answers by Oct. 16, according to a release from his office.
The release said a hacker group removed a Flock camera last month and recovered an encryption key stored on the device, unlocking more than 1.6 million images and 27,000 video clips; Flock had previously described its devices as secure and encrypted.
In August, Flock announced platform changes effective Jan. 1, including mandatory audit tools that lock out users flagged for abnormal searches, and a standard retention window cut from 30 days to seven.
Flock also said agencies will have to tie each search to a case number from their records management system, and customers can limit which offense types outside agencies may search their data for.
Schumer said any federal agency using the network to track Americans exercising their rights in New York would be unacceptable; the article does not report findings confirming such use.

Sources

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

Schumer questions Flock Safety on National Lookup Tool, data security (Saratogian, October 11, 2026)
Schumer questions Flock Safety on National Lookup Tool, data security (Troy Record, October 11, 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 12, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.