Flock announced updates to its platform last Thursday aimed at preventing the misuse of its automatic license plate readers by police officers, according to MIT Technology Review. The company operates a network of approximately 120,000 such readers across the United States.
The Washington Post reported that investigations uncovered 50 cases where officers misused systems from Flock and other providers. In one notable instance, a woman in Wisconsin alleged that her ex-boyfriend, a police officer, searched for her car 179 times using the technology.
These developments highlight growing concerns over privacy and data security in surveillance technology, a topic also gaining traction in Japan as regulators consider stricter controls on automated monitoring systems in public spaces.