Flock CEO Apologizes After Calling Privacy Activists “Terrorists”

Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley apologized after previously calling people who opposed his company “terrorists,” according to the Gizmodo article. Langley told Forbes, “My comments were a mistake and I apologize.” The company runs a large network of cameras used by police departments across the U.S., making the apology part of a broader debate about surveillance, policing, and privacy.

Langley had also described Deflock as a “terroristic organization,” according to the article. Deflock maintains an open-source mapping project at deflocked.org that tracks more than 115,000 cameras across the U.S. For readers, the key issue is not just the language used by a tech CEO, but whether public mapping of surveillance tools should be treated as civic accountability or as a threat.

Activists have raised concerns about Flock’s work with local police departments and the expansion of its cameras. The company operates license plate readers used by police and denies that it tracks individual people, while the article points to demonstrations that critics say show otherwise. Flock also denies that it works with ICE, another concern cited by activists.

Gizmodo frames the backlash as potentially bipartisan, noting Tucker Carlson’s criticism of Langley’s use of “terroristic” and his remarks about license plate readers. The article also notes that some cities have canceled Flock contracts, including the Los Angeles Police Department allowing a three-year contract to lapse. The practical takeaway: local surveillance contracts, data practices, and camera mapping projects are becoming flashpoints for public scrutiny.