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Flock Safety cuts license-plate data retention to 7 days after misuse scandal

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Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley announced on August 13 that the company is reducing its default license-plate-reader data retention period from 30 days to seven, following a Washington Post investigation that found nearly 50 officers accused of running unauthorized searches. The company also plans to make misuse detection mandatory and require a case code on every search by year-end. Flock's own data reveals that over 90% of searches are completed within a week, meaning the additional 23 days of retention served fewer than 10% of queries across its 120,000-camera network. Critics including the ACLU and the Institute for Justice dismissed most of the announced measures as insufficient, arguing they address detection rather than the underlying problem of unchecked police access. Civil liberties advocates contend that search decisions should require judicial oversight rather than remaining at officers' discretion.

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