{
  "id": 17612747,
  "title": "Police Chief physically unplugs Flock cameras after the company ignores contract cancellation — city takes matters into its own hands amid privacy controversies",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/police-chief-physically-unplugs-flock-cameras-after-the-company",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-01T13:55:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Hardware",
    "slug": "tom-s-hardware",
    "url": "https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/police-chief-physically-unplugs-flock-cameras-after-the-company-ignores-contract-cancellation-city-takes-matters-into-its-own-hands-amid-privacy-controversies"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In September 2026, Plymouth City Council decided to terminate its contract with Flock. However, the company did not respond to the city's requests to remove the cameras they had installed around the city. After informing Flock of the cancellation, the city waited a week without receiving a reply. Flock's failure to address the council's decision led Plymouth Police Chief Eric Fadden to remove the cameras' power cords, ensuring they were non-functional. Fadden informed The Drive about the city's decision to discontinue Flock ALPRs at a September 22 meeting and the subsequent suspension of user accounts. The city followed up with a formal cancellation letter, but Flock remained unresponsive, except for communications with their local representative.\n\nReports of misusing the system and the mistaken \"ambush\" of a car reviewer have surfaced in recent months. Moreover, there are allegations that police have been pulling motorists over based on an AI algorithm's assessment of their travel history as suspicious. Dayton, a city in Minnesota located 10 miles north of Plymouth, has also halted its Flock program and disabled the two devices in the area. The Dayton police were informed about Flock's intention to replace the cameras but proceeded with the work order despite the instruction not to. With over 300,000 Flock cameras installed nationwide, their wide coverage makes them effective at tracking vehicles. While marketed as automated license plate readers (ALPRs), Flock's system uses AI to identify vehicles based on additional markings, such as stickers, paint color, and make and model. Due to these controversies, critics have urged city councils to remove the cameras, citing privacy concerns. Flock has not commented on the requests for camera removal, and taking such actions would reduce the company's coverage area, albeit without incurring any additional labor costs.",
  "summary": "The Plymouth City Council was left with no choice but to physically disconnect the cameras after Flock failed to respond to its demands.",
  "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."
}