Flock says its new tool will help identify police abuse, but hasn’t explained how it works

Core Impact Points

• Flock has introduced 'Evidence Mode' and 'Audit Assistance' features to curb abuse of its automated license plate camera reader systems.
• The company claims 'Audit Assistance' detects abnormal activity and flags it for administrator review, but has not explained in detail how it works.
• Flock requires all customers to enable 'Audit Assistance' by the end of the year, but has not provided information on how the algorithm is trained or what data it is based on.
• The lack of transparency surrounding 'Audit Assistance' raises concerns about the potential for bias in the algorithm and its impact on law enforcement practices.
• Flock's new policies and tools may have implications for the US market, particularly in regards to the use of surveillance technologies in law enforcement.
• The company's failure to explain how 'Audit Assistance' works may also have implications for the development and deployment of surveillance technologies in the US.