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Tag: flock cameras

  • Amazon’s smart doorbell maker Ring scraps partnership with company after Super Bowl ad backlash

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    CHICAGO — Amazon’s smart doorbell maker Ring has terminated a partnership with police surveillance tech company Flock Safety.

    The announcement follows a backlash that erupted after 30-second Ring ad that aired during the Super Bowl featuring a lost dog that is found through a network of cameras, sparking fears of a dystopian surveillance society.

    But that feature, called Search Party, was not related to Flock. And Ring’s announcement doesn’t cite the ad as a reason for the “joint decision” for the cancellation.

    Ring and Flock said last year they were planning on working together to give Ring camera owners the option to share their video footage in response to law enforcement requests made through a Ring feature known as Community Requests.

    “Following a comprehensive review, we determined the planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated,” Ring’s statement said.

    “The integration never launched, so no Ring customer videos were ever sent to Flock Safety.”

    Beyond the Flock partnership, Ring has faced other surveillance concerns.

    In the Super Bowl ad, a lost dog is found with Ring’s Search Party feature, which the company says can “reunite lost dogs with their families and track wildfires threatening your community.” The clip depicts the dog being tracked by cameras throughout a neighborhood using artificial intelligence.

    And viewers took to social media to criticize it for being sinister, leaving many wondering if it would be used to track humans and saying they would turn the feature off.

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that focus on civil liberties related to digital technology, said this week that Americans should feel unsettled over the potential loss of privacy.

    “Amazon Ring already integrates biometric identification, like face recognition, into its products via features like “Familiar Faces,” which depends on scanning the faces of those in sight of the camera and matching it against a list of pre-saved, pre-approved faces,” the Foundation wrote Tuesday. “It doesn’t take much to imagine Ring eventually combining these two features: face recognition and neighborhood searches.”

    Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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    AP

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  • Thornton town hall brings community together to talk use of Flock cameras across city

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    THORNTON, Colo. — Thornton residents gathered Wednesday night for a town hall meeting to discuss the use of Flock cameras in their community, weighing the benefits of crime-solving technology against privacy concerns.

    The Colorado city joins the ongoing conversation about surveillance technology that has sparked heated debates across the country.

    Thornton Police currently have 15 Flock automated license plate readers (ALPRs) stationed throughout the city, plus one mobile unit. While the department says these cameras help investigators solve crimes, not everyone in the community supports their use.

    “How much do you want freedom versus safety?,” said Thornton resident Steven Mathias.

    For Mathias, understanding data protection measures is crucial if the city plans to continue to use the technology.

    “I think we need to be really serious about data custody and integrity,” he said.

    Lilia Onstott, Denver7 Photojournalist

    Resident Meg Moore stressed the importance of community involvement when making decisions about the technology and how its used.

    “We all have a right to have input into how we are policed, into where our tax dollars go,” Moore said.

    Read Denver7’s previous coverage on Flock cameras in Denver:

    The town hall featured speakers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the creator of a crowdsourcing website, deflock.me, that tracks Flock camera locations across communities.

    Several council members were also in attendance including Justin Martinez, who represents Ward I.

    “My opinion is so far undecided,” Martinez said, referring to Flock cameras.

    On February 3, Martinez and other council members are expected to hear a presentation from Thornton Police about current camera usage.

    Until then, those like Moore hope the community plays a major role in the future of Flock within their city.

    “We’ve tried to create an environment here tonight where we can have that conversation, and we can meet each other at the same table, good faith conversation about something that impacts all of us,” Moore said.

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    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Claire Lavezzorio

    Denver7’s Claire Lavezzorio covers topics that have an impact across Colorado, but specializes in reporting on stories in the military and veteran communities. If you’d like to get in touch with Claire, fill out the form below to send her an email.

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    Claire Lavezzorio

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  • Denverites demand removal, bagging of license plate readers after mayor’s contract extension

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    DENVER — On the same day that Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced a five-month extension of the city’s contract with license plate camera maker Flock Group, Inc., community members demanded their removal from intersections across Denver.

    Flock cameras were installed in Denver in May 2024, and there are now more than 100 cameras mounted at 70 intersections across the city.

    The Denver Police Department has credited the license plate readers for hundreds of arrests and recovered stolen vehicles, as well as the recovery of dozens of firearms. But at a packed community meeting Wednesday night, residents called for the city to “De-Flock Denver” and for the mayor to include the community in conversations about the future of the cameras.

    Denver7

    John McKinney, president of the East Colfax Neighborhood Association, told the packed crowd he has a simple message for Mayor Johnston.

    “Quit doing this behind closed doors and come out and debate us in the public forum, you f—-ing p—y!,” said McKinney.

    The gathering brought together several registered neighborhood associations (RNOs) against the use of Flock.

    This meeting came on the same day Johnston announced new privacy protections for the cameras, stating that only Denver police officers can access Denver’s camera data.

    “No federal agency of any sort, no federal employee of any sort will have access to Denver’s data,” Johnston told Denver7 Investigates.

    Under the updated contract, other Colorado law enforcement agencies can access the information only if they sign agreements promising not to share data with federal agencies. An agency that signs the agreement and violates it will be subject to prosecution by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

    Flock will pay a $100,000 fine for any instance in which it shares data with the federal government, according to the city.

    Denver

    Denver bans sharing of Flock camera data with the federal government

    McKinney dismissed these safeguards as insufficient protection.

    “It’s very weak regulation,” McKinney said.

    Johnston acknowledged in his interview Wednesday that he cannot satisfy all critics but defended the program’s effectiveness in reducing auto theft and solving murders.

    “For folks who are never going to ideologically believe in any use of a camera system in the country, we won’t find common ground on that idea,” Johnston said.

    • Watch our full interview with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston below

    Denver Mayor Mike Johnston discusses 5-month extension with Flock | Full interview

    Denver City Council members who attended the town hall said they were not involved in the mayor’s contract decision with the company. Councilwoman Shontel Lewis publicly criticized Johnston Wednesday night.

    “I want to say that it’s important for you all to identify the kings in the castle in the cities in which you all live,” said Lewis. “And the mayor is one of those.”

    The heated debate over license plate reader cameras is expected to continue in the coming months. Denver7 will continue to stay on top of this issue.

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    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Claire Lavezzorio

    Denver7’s Claire Lavezzorio covers topics that have an impact across Colorado, but specializes in reporting on stories in the military and veteran communities. If you’d like to get in touch with Claire, fill out the form below to send her an email.

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    Claire Lavezzorio

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  • UW Study Looks to Question How Flock Security Camera Information Being Shared – KXL

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    SEATTLE, Wash.  — A new study by The University of Washington Center for Human Rights appears to show how Flock Security Cameras have in some cases been used incorrectly.

    It suggests there are cases of direct, indirect and other ways agencies at the federal level have been able to get information on private U.S. citizens and ondocumented immigrants they otherwise may not have been able to gather.  Springfield and Eugene, Oregon have made decisions to pause their use as has Auburn, Washington and other cities in the Northwest.

    Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has been an outspoken critic of the use of the surveillance cameras while some local law enforcement agencies have praised them.

    More about:

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    Brett Reckamp

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