Two Phoenix, Arizona, suburbs became the latest municipalities Wednesday to terminate their contracts with Flock Safety, cancelling their use of the company’s automated license plate readers that have drawn widespread privacy concerns. The city of Tempe, which had an $80,000 contract with the company, said it would turn off all of its Flock cameras due to mounting reports of data “misuse” in other regions. Three hours later, the nearby town of Cave Creek also announced it had ended its contract with Flock and completely removed the technology. Flock offers a system able to recognize license plates immediately. The technology uses cameras and audio devices to record plate numbers, as well as identify what the company calls a “vehicle signature.” Though ALPRs do not collect any biometric data or facial recognition. An early August Washington Post investigation found more than 50 law enforcement officers had been accused, charged with or convicted of misusing ALPRs for unauthorized purposes — including to stalk past partners without their consent.
Read more: KSN-TV
