Critics of Flock Safety are circulating an address they say belongs to company founder and CEO Garrett Langley, marking an escalation in the widespread backlash the surveillance technology company is facing amid concerns over privacy and potential police misuse.
Numerous posts sharing an address purportedly belonging to Langley have circulated on X, with many users responding to a viral post that quoted Langley as saying Americans must “compromise” on their privacy.
Some shared what they said was a blurred image of Langley’s home on Google Street View, with one X user saying the “compromise apparently doesn’t apply to him.”
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Newsweek has not verified the address and is not publishing or linking to it. Newsweek has contacted Langley for comment via an email to Flock Safety.
The renewed attention came after Langley recently appeared on Fox News’ Saturday in America, where he called for a “compromise” between public safety and privacy.
“When people talk about just one of these, privacy or safety, they’re prioritizing the wrong thing, and what we have to prioritize as a country is compromise,” Langley said in the interview. “How do we have our safety, and how do we balance privacy?”
The comments came as backlash against Flock intensified this summer after a series of investigations and police misconduct cases raised new questions about who can search Flock’s nationwide network and how that information can be used.
The company operates a vast nationwide network of automated license plate readers (ALPRs). The technology is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies in 49 states, allowing officers to search and share data across jurisdictions to assist investigations.
Backers of the technology say it helps solve crimes and locate missing people, but critics argue that it enables mass surveillance and creates opportunities for misuse. More than 50 cities and towns have deactivated, rejected or canceled Flock contracts since the beginning of the year, according to a tally by DeFlock, a grassroots group formed to track the use of the technology.
What Langley Has Said
Langley has given a series of interviews to news outlets as his company faces scrutiny from lawmakers from both parties, civil liberties advocates and citizens across the country.
He told Newsweek this month that transparency and accountability are central to the company’s approach. Flock’s “end goal isn’t a dystopian future of surveillance; it’s one where we all feel safe,” he said.
When asked if Flock’s technology is pushing the U.S. toward a dystopian “big brother” society, Langley responded: “No, I don’t think so,” adding, “I’m a father of three little kids…, I pay my taxes, like I’m a pretty normal person. I have the same types of anxieties of like, where’s the world going? What are we setting up for?”
In the recent interview with Fox News, he also stressed that the company is focused on ensuring its technology is used for good.
“Today, it is too often that in Flock and in other technologies, there’s no regulation. There’s no accountability, and we think that’s wrong,” he said.
“We announced changes that required auditing, that required using our audit assistance tool, which detects abnormal behavior, and we’re calling on state regulators to focus less on banning this type of technology and more [on] holding our law enforcement community accountable.”
The Washington Post reported this month that it had identified nearly 50 instances of police officers charged or accused of using Flock’s system for unauthorized purposes, including stalking current or former romantic partners or family members.
After listening to one woman’s interview, Langley told CBS News: “I apologize. It kills me that she went through that.”
But Langley defended the service the company provides to law enforcement, adding: “I don’t think that Flock created police abuse. I think we’re the first company to ever shine a light on it and build the tools to find it.”
In the interview, he also called for state lawmakers to pass legislation to make unauthorized use of Flock data a criminal offense.
“You will get caught, plain and simple. If you try to use this tool illegally, you will get caught,” he said when asked if he had a message for any officer thinking about using the system to follow someone not under investigation. “And I hope that state regulators pass bills that make that a criminal offense. It should not just be a termination. It should be a criminal offense if you abuse your power.”
Flock Announces Changes
Earlier this month, Flock announced changes to its platform that aim to quell privacy concerns and address abuses.
Beginning January 1, all law enforcement customers will be required to use an audit tool designed to flag abnormal activity. When the system detects abnormal behavior, the user would be locked out pending an internal review.
“The goal is to intervene before misuse becomes recurring or widespread,” the company said.
The company also said it would shorten the standard data retention window from 30 days to seven, though data will be allowed to be preserved for longer when it is evidence tied to a case number.
Law enforcement customers will also be required to enter a code from their records management system tying each search to a specific case before it is run. Overrides for emergencies would be automatically flagged for review.
The changes will also allow customers to restrict which categories of crimes outside agencies can use when searching their data.
“For example, City A could allow City B to search its cameras only for a stolen vehicle, missing person, or violent crime while blocking searches related to immigration enforcement,” the company said. “This gives communities more control over data sharing while preserving collaboration where policies align.”
Critics said the changes could still leave room for police to abuse the system.
The shortened evidence retention window could be “a step in the right direction,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a blog post.
It described several of the proposed changes as “retreads of previous inadequate safety measures.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Dave Siminoff.