// THE VERGE — HARDWARE & GADGET
Flock CEO: ‘We got this one wrong’
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After reports that some cops misused tracking data it collects, Flock is rolling out policy changes.
After reports that some cops misused tracking data it collects, Flock is rolling out policy changes.
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Surveillance tech company Flock is rolling out updates to address reports of cops across the country abusing its tools to stalk ex-romantic partners and others. CEO Garrett Langley is delivering a mea culpa, and in an interview with The Verge, says he’s changed his mind on what responsibility Flock bears for how law enforcement uses it.
Over the coming weeks, Flock will begin implementing updates that include requiring a previously optional feature called Audit Assistance, which flags “abnormal search behavior” and immediately locks out suspicious users until an administrator reviews their activity. All users will also be required to enter case codes to run searches, ideally limiting the ability to run a query for personal or nefarious purposes. This can be overridden by an administrator for emergency situations, like tracking a missing child, but those will automatically be flagged for review.
These and other changes mark a change of course for Flock — which has previously punted oversight of its technology to lawmakers, arguing they’re responsible for crafting policies that require Audit Assistance-style systems or other limits. Little such regulation has come to pass, and Langley says he’s seen firsthand how slowly the regulatory process can move. “This is such an obvious way to curb abuse,” he says of the tool that lets agency administrators require case codes for searches. “And I said, ‘Fine. You know what? I think that’s right, and we got this one wrong. We should make it a requirement.’”