Dunwoody City Council votes to defer Flock contract over data use concerns

The Dunwoody City Council unanimously voted to defer a 12-month contract with Flock Safety for its 911 dispatch software on Monday. The decision came after spending more than an hour questioning a company representative and police leadership about data security, privacy practices and recent changes to Flock’s terms and services. 

“I’m going to recommend…that we step back,” said Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch at the end of the question and answer period, suggesting the city pause the contract until its experts can review Flock’s technology and policy changes. 

The contract was deferred to the March 23 meeting to allow the city’s information security experts and attorneys to meet with Flock representatives.

The council later approved a memorandum of understanding with the Perimeter Community Improvement District, which is funding a two-year agreement that includes adding a second Flock Safety drone for the Dunwoody Police Department. 

Flock Safety concerns spark local pushback

Flock Safety is an Atlanta-based police technology company largely known for its automated license plate recognition systems. The company also sells drone systems, gunshot detectors and mobile security trailers. Its software offerings include case investigation management, an AI investigation and operations support tool and the Flock911 dispatch program under consideration Monday. 

The company has faced scrutiny in the past year after investigative journalists found the national Flock ALPR network had been used on behalf of U.S. immigration enforcement and to track a woman who had an abortion, according to reporting by 404 Media. Flock disputes the finding about the abortion case. 

Benn Jordan, a technology expert, has released several videos highlighting issues with Flock’s information security measures, including the ability to gain administrator access to Flock license plate readers with a few button presses and an easy-to-guess password. 

In December, Jordan also posted an additional video showing that he could remote access and live-view cameras remotely through an administrative interface he said he found via a regular search engine. He called this vulnerability “Netflix for stalkers.” Jordan filmed a segment of his video through a Flock camera on the Peachtree Creek Greenway in Brookhaven, about 10 miles away from the Dunwoody City Hall. 

Dunwoody resident Jason Hunyar told ACPC he grew concerned over his city’s use of Flock after watching Jordan’s “Netflix for stalkers” video. “My wife and I have walked that trail before,” Hunyar said in reference to the Peachtree Creek Greenway. 

“It was very unnerving,” he said.

Hunyar began reaching out to members of the Dunwoody City Council to discuss his concerns. He said the council members he met with showed interest in the issue—something that was evident at Monday’s meeting.

Council members press for answers

Council Member Catherine Lautenbacher questioned a Flock Safety representative about the live-streaming vulnerability that Jordan displayed from the Peachtree Creek Greenway. 

Kerry McCormack, Flock Safety’s public relations manager for the East Coast, told the Dunwoody City Council that the company had proactively published a blog post about the remote live streaming vulnerability, which it blamed on the cell carrier the device used, Verizon Wireless. While exploits had been found for the physical devices, he said, “Our systems, our data, our customers’ data has never been hacked.”

Lautenbacher also expressed concern about Flock’s use of customer data to train its artificial intelligence. 

Flock allows police agencies to network their data with other agencies locally and nationwide. Council Member Tom Lambert challenged Dunwoody Police Chief Michael Carson and Major Patrick Krieg about the department’s data-sharing policies. Lambert questioned why Dunwoody shares its camera data with 1,864 other agencies, with 492 sharing back. Lambert rattled off the names of some of the agencies Dunwoody shares its data with, which included CSX Railroad, the Alabama Department of Revenue and the State University of New York—as well as two agencies each labeled “do not use” and “delete.”

Mayor Deutsch and several council members questioned Flock’s recent changes to its customer terms and conditions. Previous versions stated that Flock would not sell customer data, but that statement was removed in a Feb. 16 update.

A blogpost on Flock’s website states, “We removed a sentence that previously stated ‘Flock shall not sell Customer Data’ because it was redundant, not because our position changed. Flock cannot and does not sell Customer Data.”

Still, the updated terms and conditions were a particular point of concern for the mayor, who said she is responsible for signing most of the city’s contracts. Attorneys for the city told the mayor and council that some updates to terms and conditions are normal, but major changes would allow Dunwoody to get out of a contract—though it would likely require litigation, said Jill Dunn, Dunwoody’s outside counsel for the Flock contract.

“The contract thing is gonna drive me batty,” Deutsch said. “I do not understand a system in which I sign a contract, and it’s a subscription for a year, and the terms can change nine months in. These changes don’t feel insignificant to me. I have a lot of mayor friends, and we’re all talking about this.” 

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