CDT's Tom Bowman says Flock's changes still leave police departments to police themselves
Tom BowmanPolicy counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, in a statement to ABC News
Tom Bowman of the Center for Democracy & Technology said Flock's package included some meaningful improvements, such as shorter retention, but still asked thousands of police departments to police themselves. He said a warrant requirement is the fix.
Responding to
Flock's August 2026 safeguards meaningfully address privacy and misuse concerns about its license-plate reader network.
“While this measure contains some meaningful improvements, such as the shortened retention policy, ultimately it is the same 'Just Trust Us' policy with a fresh coat of paint Flock is still asking thousands of police departments to police themselves, despite evidence from across the U.S. that this lack of guardrails is unsafe.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Flock Safety's August 2026 privacy safeguards address concerns about its camera network?
Flock Safety announced new controls for its license-plate reader network on August 13, 2026. The ACLU said a shorter default retention period might help but argued that the broader package left major privacy risks unresolved. The dispute concerns the adequacy of Flock's safeguards, not whether the company announced them.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
ABC News reports the safeguards Flock announced on August 13, 2026, and quotes a statement from Tom Bowman, policy counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Flock announced on August 13, 2026, that it would make seven days its default retention period instead of 30, require a criminal case number for every search and make its Audit Assistance tool mandatory by the end of the year. Bowman responded in a statement to ABC News.
After the quotation
He added that the changes do not ward off the dangers of plate readers, which he listed as pervasive tracking, stops based on flawed AI flags and stalking, and said the fix is to "make the government get a warrant".
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether Flock's August 2026 safeguard package (a seven-day default retention period, Evidence Mode, offense-based sharing limits, mandatory Audit Assistance, proactive lockouts and case codes) addresses privacy and misuse concerns about its plate-reader network. Bowman credits the shorter retention period but concludes that the package still relies on police departments overseeing themselves and that only a warrant requirement would stop the threats he lists. Condemns fits because his overall judgment rejects the package as adequate. Mixed or conditional is the closest competing label; it loses because his credit for one change does not alter that conclusion.
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- Flock Safety
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- CDT's Tom Bowman says Flock's changes still leave police departments to police themselves
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The Dispute Index. "CDT's Tom Bowman says Flock's changes still leave police departments to police themselves". First published: 2026-11-10. Last updated: 2026-11-10. https://disputeindex.com/events/8529-tom-bowman-of-the-center-for-democracy-technology