A recently obtained presentation shows that Flock Safety, the company behind a vast network of AI-powered license plate readers, was actively pitching a plan to transform rideshare and delivery vehicles into mobile surveillance units. The proposal, which never went into effect, would have leveraged dashcams from the company Nexar to scan the plates of every car in proximity, effectively creating a roving fleet of hundreds of thousands of cameras.
The documents, acquired by a Georgia resident through a public records request, were intended for the Georgia Office of the Attorney General. They outline a partnership that would have integrated Nexar's dashcam technology into Flock's existing infrastructure, which currently relies on stationary poles to monitor fixed areas. According to the presentation, the collaboration would have added roughly 350,000 devices from Uber, Lyft, and other delivery services to Flock's network.
While Flock confirmed to 404 Media that the partnership was never finalized, the materials reveal the company's ambition to expand beyond its fixed cameras. The proposal boasted that hundreds of commercial businesses and homeowners associations in Georgia were already part of the network, and the Nexar deal would have significantly broadened its reach.
Why Mobile Surveillance Matters
Adding rideshare vehicles to the network would have introduced a new layer of surveillance, one that could operate with less visibility than the stationary pylons that have drawn public backlash. In several cities, protesters have vandalized or blocked Flock's cameras, a problem that a mobile fleet could circumvent. The plan also raises questions about whether drivers would have been informed of their role in surveillance efforts, a point 404 Media noted was unclear.
The potential expansion comes amid growing scrutiny of Flock's practices. The company's centralized database, accessible to law enforcement nationwide, has been linked to at least 50 officers accused of using the cameras to stalk women, according to a recent tally by The Washington Post. There have also been instances where individuals were wrongly identified as suspects, leading to police confrontations.
Flock has not ruled out pursuing a similar partnership in the future, which could intensify the privacy and safety concerns already associated with its technology. The company recently canceled a separate pilot program for acoustic sensors that monitored public spaces for sounds of distress, indicating a shift in its surveillance strategy.
The disclosure of these plans, while not resulting in an active partnership, underscores the ongoing debate over the balance between public safety and individual privacy in the age of AI-driven surveillance.
