Flock is starting to feel the heat — or at least its PR team is.
Last week, its CEO Garrett Langley offered a simpering public apology for abuses of its mass surveillance network after a Washington Post investigation found at least 50 cases of police officers allegedly using Flock’s AI-powered cameras to stalk women.
Then in an interview with Vanity Fair days later, Langley insultingly suggested that his cameras would have solved the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie — a comment that came as more cities across the country are
cancelling their Flock contractsamid mounting public backlash against the company. Media outlets would sure like to know what Flock’s thinking is about all this and more, but it’s not playing ball. Rather than respond to questions, its communications team, as of Wednesday, is telling reporters that it’s taking a well-timed “break” — with a bizarre attempt at levity thrown in for good measure.
“Thanks for reaching out to Flock. Our media team is currently touching grass and taking a break,” an email sent to multiple outlets reads. “Unlike our cameras, we can’t work 24/7, so we’ll get back to you when we’ve had a snack and regained the ability to form coherent sentences.”
Why the cute, quirky tone? What possessed them to stoop to this weird self-infantilizing rhetoric? Is it supposed to be a reminder that the employees of the faceless corporate surveillance state are people, too?
To be fair to Flock’s spin doctors, they have had a lot on their plate. Residents are overrunning town meetings to fiercely protest against the deployment of Flock’s systems. Activists are tearing down or blocking their cameras, while a social media campaign calling to turn Halloween into a giant “De-Flock” party where everyone targets the cameras while in costume has gone viral.
Beyond being used to stalk innocent people, the cameras have also swarmed random individuals with over-the-top police responses, including a journalist. ICE and Border Patrol agents could tap into the Flock network to find people to deport. And despite Flock framing its tools as harmless license plate scanners, its cameras are often spotted stationed over residential and community areas — and even swimming pools.
So yes: maybe those heckin’ smol beans in Flock’s comms team need a break from trying to justify all this 24/7. Wouldn’t anyone?
More on surveillance: Flock’s Network Is Losing Value to Cops as More and More of Its Cameras Go Offline