Garrett Langley, chief executive of Flock Safety, told Fox News that the nation must find a compromise between privacy and safety.
“When people talk about just one of these, privacy or safety, they are prioritizing the wrong thing,” Langley said. “What we have to prioritise as a country is compromise.”
He added that the central question remains how to balance the two while maintaining public security.
This interview came as the company faces increasing public criticism. Concerns focus on the potential misuse of its surveillance cameras, drones, and license plate recognition software.
The Washington Post recently identified 46 instances where police officers were accused of using Flock technology for unauthorised purposes. These included stalking wives, girlfriends, or ex-partners.
After hearing an interview with one of the alleged victims, Langley told CBS News he apologised. “It kills me that she went through that,” he said.
At the same time, he insisted the company did not create police abuse. Langley argued they were the first to highlight the issue and build the tools to find it.
Political pressure is mounting from both sides. Democratic and Republican politicians have begun to target Flock.
On the left, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed accused his opponent, Mike Rogers, of supporting the mass proliferation of Flock cameras. El-Sayed claimed the technology watches every move to collect information without notice.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont posted a message on social media: “STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE. STOP FLOCK.”
On the right, three House Republicans introduced a bill to prohibit the federal government from purchasing automated surveillance systems. The legislation targets facial recognition, biometric IDs, and license plate recognition, including a Flock Safety camera.
Flock has made some adjustments to address the criticism. The company reduced the default data retention time from 30 days to seven days. It also requires a case code to be entered before accessing data.
Both measures can be overridden. Police can save data for a longer period by using a setting called Evidence Mode.
The American Civil Liberties Union responded to the proposed changes. “While Flock has not shortened the default retention period to the ACLU’s recommended 48 hours, its proposal may be a step in the right direction,” the organisation said.
The union noted that whether this is a real change or a public relations move depends on how Evidence Mode operates.
Langley has called on state regulators to pass bills making the illegal use of Flock data a criminal offence.
During his Fox News appearance, he pointed to the company’s recent changes. He argued that there is currently no regulation and no accountability in Flock or other technologies. “We think that’s wrong,” he said.
TechCrunch will ask Langley about these issues when he appears on stage at the Disrupt conference in October.
What it means
Users should treat the seven-day retention rule as a default setting rather than a hard limit. Police can still archive data indefinitely if they enable Evidence Mode.
