Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Garrett Langley Defends Flock Surveillance Technology Amid Backlash Over License Plate Cameras
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Garrett Langley defended Flock's surveillance at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, citing crime-fighting benefits. South Windsor voted to remove Flock cameras over privacy concerns and AI monitoring.
Langley backs surveillance
Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley defended surveillance technology at a panel at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco on Wednesday, arguing that society should not pause progress.
Langley said, "If we want to live in a society where, if you commit a crime, you have a higher probability of being held accountable, we shouldn’t pause progress," while responding to criticism of Flock’s license plate cameras and other recording devices.
Langley framed the debate as a trade-off, telling the audience that people would have to give up some privacy to live in a safer society.
Langley deflected hard questions with anecdotes from conversations with police chiefs and city leaders across the United States, and with tales of crimes Flock had supposedly helped solve.
Langley also said, "Technology, at its core, in its definition, is just doing things better. It’s not doing things perfect," as he compared the technology debate to driverless cars.
Backlash and contract fallout
Langley’s remarks came as criticism of Flock had led to cancelled contracts and even layoffs. Cadena 3 described Langley’s defense at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 as he faced rising privacy criticisms that had driven contract cancellations and layoffs. Cadena 3 reported that Langley referenced a case in which a client ended its contract because it believed Flock devices performed facial recognition, even though the company does not offer that functionality.
Langley addressed the idea that misinformation about Flock had led to some customers’ cancellations, including the same facial recognition claim. Cadena 3 quoted Langley saying, "I believe that, as a consequence of building a high-impact company, this is the price that is paid, and I think it’s worth it because millions of people have a better life today thanks to Flock".
Local removals and scale
South Windsor, Connecticut ordered the removal of Flock Safety surveillance cameras after the South Windsor Town Council approved a resolution requiring the local police to immediately suspend the use of the cameras and proceed with their removal within a maximum period of 60 days. The cameras use Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology to photograph vehicles, identify plates, and record information in a private database that can be accessed by authorities. The system was installed in April 2025 without prior public announcement, and the decision marked a setback for Flock Safety.
Flock Safety has developed an extensive network of roughly 120,000 cameras distributed across 49 states, and the controversy was described as a balance between public safety and privacy. Garrett Langley defended the technology by citing "the rescue of an 11-year-old girl in Tennessee" as an example where a camera recorded the vehicle’s license plate used by her kidnapper.