footnote4a

Mass surveillance, government contracts, and other bedtime reading.

FOIA & Transparency

Public-records releases, responsive documents, and lack thereof.

14 posts

FOIA & Transparency

Front-Loading the Determination: A Response to EFF on ALPR Transparency

EFF proposes case-by-case balancing instead of exemptions. Front-loaded rulemaking and watchlist-based determinations would actually work.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-05-01
FOIA & Transparency

These Are Just False

On a Flock webinar, the company's policy lead denies a federal backdoor, then describes it ninety seconds later — while dismissing "claims in the media" as false.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-04-23
FOIA & Transparency

Trust Me, Bro: Flock's Latest Security Blog, Reviewed

Flock Safety's new CISO published a blog post defending the company's cybersecurity record. It relies on misquoted opponents, vibe-based severity ratings, and a conspicuous absence of actual evidence.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-03-28
FOIA & Transparency

The Column Disappeared. So Did the Explanation.

A newly surfaced email exchange reveals that Condor cameras silently generated vehicle data in August 2025. Flock blamed unreleased feature work. No one was formally notified.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-03-17
FOIA & Transparency

Flock's Hot Lists are a Hot Mess

800 custom hotlist entries from a Texas constable's office reveal vague reasons, indefinite surveillance, and instructions to manufacture probable cause.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-03-14
FOIA & Transparency

Flock vs. FOIA: The Suppression Manual

Flock coaches police on denying records requests, inserts itself into the legal process, and sells a 'transparency portal' its own staff calls useless.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-03-05
FOIA & Transparency

Twenty-Eight

Flock says 28 employees can access federally protected criminal justice information. Their own paperwork says otherwise.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-02-25
FOIA & Transparency

Langley Speaks on the Burden of Truth and Minority Report

Flock CEO Garrett Langley praises Minority Report's precrime program, conflates arrest with conviction, and deploys an evidence authentication system that wouldn't survive a first-year cross-examination.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-02-09
FOIA & Transparency

FOIA Mode: Results and General Availability

Watching you watch me. Sideways.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-02-05
FOIA & Transparency

Red Team, Red Flags: Flock's Bishop Fox Engagement Creates Compliance Nightmare

Flock Safety hired Bishop Fox for adversarial security testing. Under CJIS rules, successful testing would trigger mandatory incident reporting—making competent auditing a compliance violation.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-02-02
FOIA & Transparency

Flock Tells Customers to Disable Nationwide Lookup After Public Records Expose Search Activity

Flock's VP of Engineering advises police customers to disable nationwide sharing after public records requests expose search activity. The company's solution: "redaction capabilities" coming in 2026.

By H.C. van Pelt2025-12-30
FOIA & Transparency

Flock CEO Claims Watching the Watchers is Unfair and One-Sided

Flock CEO Garrett Langley recently assured a Virginia police chief that Flock is "CJIS compliant." He's technically correct—and completely misleading.

By H.C. van Pelt2025-12-19
FOIA & Transparency

Transparency Portals

A list of Flock Transparency portals

By Have I Been Flocked Team2025-11-03
FOIA & Transparency

Washington Cities Seek to Prevent APLR Abuse by Ending Transparency

The Washington cities of Sedro-Woolley and Stanwood filed a suit in Skagit County Superior Court, asking the court to put an end to police accountability.

By Have I Been Flocked Team2025-11-02