Technology1 min read

Flock keeps ignoring requests to cancel its contracts

By · Via The Verge · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Multiple cities attempting to cancel contracts with Flock Safety are facing significant difficulties getting the surveillance vendor to remove its equipment. In Plymouth, Minnesota, the local police chief ordered staff to physically unplug cameras after the company ignored a council vote to terminate service for over a month. Nearby in Dayton, the company reconnected two devices without authorization despite explicit police directives to halt maintenance. Elgin Community College in Illinois faced similar resistance when the vendor refused to remove hardware and uncovered campus cameras.

Key points

  • Local governments are finding that terminating agreements with surveillance vendors does…: Local governments are finding that terminating agreements with surveillance vendors does not guarantee prompt removal of recording devices.
  • Flock Safety has repeatedly failed to adhere to explicit police directives regarding hard…: Flock Safety has repeatedly failed to adhere to explicit police directives regarding hardware deactivation and maintenance work orders.
  • Public entities have been forced to manually disable surveillance hardware to prevent con…: Public entities have been forced to manually disable surveillance hardware to prevent continued unauthorized data collection on their properties.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

While more cities are canceling their contracts with Flock Safety, just as many are discovering how difficult that can be in some instances. Plymouth, Minnesota’s city council voted to terminate its contract with Flock in September, but failed to respond to the city’s request. For over a month, the cameras remained up, and the city had received no acknowledgment from the company. So, Police Chief Eric Fadden took matters into his own hands and physically disconnected the cameras.

Flock keeps ignoring requests to cancel its contracts

Cities are canceling Flock contracts, but the company won’t take them down and sometimes is reinstalling them.

Cities are canceling Flock contracts, but the company won’t take them down and sometimes is reinstalling them.

“After hearing nothing for more than a week, I directed our staff to disconnect the power cords from the cameras in order to be sure that they are not functioning or recording plates,” Fadden told The Drive.

Roughly 20 miles up the road, Dayton, Minnesota, is having its own issues with Flock. In this instance, the company acknowledged the city’s…

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