City Learns Flock Accessed Cameras in Children’s Gymnastics Room as a Sales Pitch Demo, Renews Contract Anyway
Residents of an Atlanta suburb have been shocked by the revelation that sales personnel at Flock had accessed sensitive cameras in their community to demonstrate the company’s surveillance technology. The cameras accessed included those found in a children’s gymnastics room, a playground, a school, a Jewish community center, and a pool.
Flock has taken issue with how residents and activists have characterized this access but confirmed that the camera access did occur as part of its sales demonstrations. A blog post by Jason Hunyar, a Dunwoody, Georgia resident who learned about Flock accessing city cameras through a public records request is titled “Why Are Flock Employees Watching Our Children?“.
Flock has pushed back against this characterization on social media, in a blog post, at city council meetings, and in a statement to 404 Media: “The city of Dunwoody is one city in our demo partner program,” a Flock spokesperson told 404 Media. “The cities involved in this program have authorized select Flock employees to demonstrate new products and features as we develop them in partnership with the city. Moreover, select engineers can access accounts with customer permission to debug or fix any issues that may arise. No one is spying on children in parks, as the substack incorrectly asserts.”
Flock also argued that it is more transparent than any other surveillance company because it creates these access logs at all and they can be obtained through public records requests. “Also, I must state the irony of the situation. We’re one of the few technology companies in this space dedicated to radical transparency […] It’s unequivocally false to assert that Flock, or the police, or city officials are doing anything other than using technology to stop major crimes in the city.”
The records Hunyar obtained show how expansive Flock’s surveillance systems can be within a single city. They encompass not just cameras purchased by the city but also those purchased by private businesses such as fitness centers and studios.
After Hunyar wrote about what he found, Flock has agreed to stop using Dunwoody’s cameras for its product demonstrations. Flock’s FAQ page states that “Flock customers own their data” and “Flock will not share, sell, or access your data.” It also states “nobody from Flock Safety is accessing or monitoring your footage.”
“Fair questions have been asked about conducting demos on cameras in sensitive locations when doing this very critical testing in the real-world. Last week, in the City of Dunwoody, questions were raised about a demo conducted as part of authorized activity approved under the city’s demo partner agreement, on cameras at a local Jewish Community Center. Although the camera was only viewed during a routine demo, we understand that this is a sensitive location for many. We have therefore determined that employees will be trained to only conduct demos in more public locations, like retail parking lots.”
Flock wrote in the blog:
Although Flock customers own their data and are not entitled to access or monitor footage, they can request access from law enforcement partners who have been granted such permissions. Our team is committed to ensuring transparency and ethical use of our technology.
Key Takeaways
- Flock has agreed to discontinue using Dunwoody’s cameras for product demonstrations after the revelations made by Jason Hunyar.
- Flock maintains that its access logs are transparent, but critics argue it is misleading and lacks sufficient scrutiny of its surveillance systems.
- The incident highlights Flock’s stance on transparency in a competitive market where privacy concerns are paramount.
Originally published at 404media.co. Curated by AI Maestro.
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