{
  "id": 14722965,
  "title": "Benn Jordan on Flock, privacy, and the new surveillance backlash",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/benn-jordan-on-flock-privacy-and-the-new-surveillance-backlash",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-15T14:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Verge",
    "slug": "the-verge",
    "url": "https://www.theverge.com/podcast/1011170/benn-jordan-flock-cameras-alpr-ai-surveillance-privacy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Benn Jordan, a musician, YouTuber, researcher, and investigative journalist, has recently become a prominent figure in the debate surrounding Flock Safety, the maker of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). Jordan recently testified before Congress on the matter, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing dedicated to Flock and other ALPR systems. This hearing marked a culmination of growing criticism and bipartisan backlash against Flock, similar to the pushback against AI data centers.\n\nFlock's issues have led to major fallout for the company. Hundreds of local governments have canceled contracts with Flock, and the company is now under investigation by Republican Sen. Josh Hawley. Flock plans to cut about 18 percent of its workforce in response, according to a recent Reuters report.\n\nDespite the controversy, Jordan doesn't harbor animosity towards Flock as a company. He believes that the company's poor handling of criticism has made it an easy target for scrutiny, while competitors like Axon and Motorola quietly develop similar networks. Jordan maintains an open dialogue with Flock, including communication with its CEO Garrett Langley, and reports security vulnerabilities when found.\n\nJordan's outreach to Flock is part of his broader goal to work towards solutions to surveillance overreach, rather than simply tearing down a single company. His work on YouTube and with other researchers, civil rights groups, and journalists aims to hold this conversation at the forefront, forcing accountability. So far, it seems to be working.",
  "summary": "Today, I’m talking with Benn Jordan, musician, YouTuber, researcher, and investigative journalist. You might know Benn from those first two titles — he’s got a prolific discography of experimental music dating back decades. But in the last couple of years, he’s become a high-profile face in the creator and media spaces for his work investigating […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}