Flock says the searches were “testing and validating” its moderation safeguards, not investigative searches
Flock SafetyCompany that manufactures and operates the license-plate-reader cameras, through a company spokesperson
A Flock Safety spokesperson told 404 Media that "Flock City PD is a demo and testing organization name used for law enforcement demonstrations and for our development engineers to conduct testing," and that the sensitive searches "were part of testing and validating FreeForm search moderation and related safeguards," adding "these were not investigative searches conducted by a customer agency." The company separately wrote in a blog post that its moderation policy needs to "recognize, flag, and block" searches referencing religious affiliation or nationality.
Responding to
The sensitive searches run through the Flock City PD and related demo accounts, including for "Star of David" and "vehicle a pretty girl would drive," were internal tests of the company's search-moderation safeguards, not investigative searches conducted by a customer law enforcement agency.
“Flock City PD is a demo and testing organization name used for law enforcement demonstrations and for our development engineers to conduct testing. Those searches were part of testing and validating FreeForm search moderation and related safeguards. These were not investigative searches conducted by a customer agency.”
Official statement
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Flock Safety's use of fake police accounts to search live license-plate cameras cross a line?
Public records show that Flock Safety, a maker of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras used by police departments nationwide, ran searches on live cameras in Dunwoody, Georgia and Bryan, Texas, and other jurisdictions, through accounts named "Flock City PD - Law Enforcement Demo," "Flock Intelligence," and "Flock Safety - Commercial Sales Demo." 404 Media reported on September 17, 2026 that the searches included sensitive queries such as "Star of David," "coexist bumper sticker," "white truck with a trump sticker," and "vehicle a pretty girl would drive." Flock told 404 Media the searches tested and validated the moderation safeguards meant to block such queries, and were not investigative searches by a customer agency. The audit logs show, however, that several sensitive searches were not blocked. A Dunwoody privacy advocate said the episode shows Flock's own network captures this sensitive information, with access controlled only by the company's own policies.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Flock Safety's own blog post explaining its testing and development program, cited by 404 Media as the company's explanation for why sensitive search terms exist in its moderation policy testing.
Reporting
About this source
404 Media's report, read in full on 2026-09-22, based on public records showing search audit logs from accounts named "Flock City PD - Law Enforcement Demo," "Flock Intelligence," and "Flock Safety - Commercial Sales Demo," which ran searches on live automated license plate reader cameras in Dunwoody, Georgia and Bryan, Texas, among other jurisdictions.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
404 Media's report was based on public-records audit logs showing searches run by Flock City PD and related demo accounts on live cameras in Dunwoody, Georgia and Bryan, Texas.
After the quotation
404 Media reported that the audit logs nonetheless showed several sensitive searches, such as "crowd" and "a person wearing scrubs," were explicitly allowed rather than blocked, and that others, including "Star of David," received only a warning.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether Flock Safety's use of fake police accounts to search live license-plate cameras for sensitive queries was appropriate, Flock characterizes the searches as legitimate internal testing of its own safeguards rather than improper surveillance, directly excusing the conduct 404 Media's audit logs document.
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More from this case
Read the full caseProton says Flock's "Flock City PD" searches are "creepy functionality that shouldn't even exist"
Proton
“Why did @flocksafety create a fake police department "Flock City PD" and then look up "car that a pretty girl would drive"? Allegedly, it's to prove that these types of searches are blocked. In reality, it's advertising creepy functionality that shouldn't even exist to start.”Read statement
Hunyar says Flock's explanation “provides the opposite assurance of what they seem to purport”
“Flock's claims that they impose restrictions on what users can search for in their database provides the opposite assurance of what they seem to purport. In doing so, they admit that their dynamic surveillance network does in fact capture this sensitive information, and that the gate to that information is controlled solely by the policies of a for-profit corporation.”Read statement
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- The Dispute Index
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- Flock says the searches were “testing and validating” its moderation safeguards, not investigative searches
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/1447-a-flock-safety-spokesperson-told-404-media-that
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The Dispute Index. "Flock says the searches were “testing and validating” its moderation safeguards, not investigative searches". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1447-a-flock-safety-spokesperson-told-404-media-that