Flock Safety Drops Acoustic Distress Detection Product After Privacy Backlash
Summary
Flock Safety dropped its planned acoustic gunshot and human-distress detection feature after privacy concerns and community backlash. The company said it was tested with a small number of customers and never broadly released.
Key points
- Flock Safety said it is removing its acoustic feature, which was designed to detect gunshots and signs of human distress.
- The company said the feature was available only to a small number of customers in a limited trial and was never broadly released.
- Flock said the system was not designed to capture voices in bulk, understand speech, analyze language, or identify voices.
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation raised civil-liberties concerns, including the possibility of police responding to loud street interactions and potential conflicts with state eavesdropping laws.
- The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking stronger protections for information collected and stored by Flock.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Flock Safety discontinued its planned Distress Detection acoustic monitoring product after privacy concerns and community backlash.
- Impact
- The feature, designed to detect gunshots and signs of human distress, was available only to a small number of customers in a limited trial and was never broadly released. The Electronic Frontier Foundation raised civil liberties and potential state eavesdropping-law concerns. The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking stronger protections for data managed by Flock.