Flock announces changes to data retention, offense filtering

A growing number of cities discontinuing the use of those automated license plate readers. Flock, in the midst of that, is announcing changes to how the data is being used. Bill Keller is live in St. Louis Park with the latest for us this morning. Hi, Bill. Good morning. Good morning, guys. In fact, a lot of these automated license plate readers, like the one you see behind me, they tend to be concentrated in some pretty high traffic areas, like shopping centers. They record the license plate of every vehicle that drives by. In fact, right now, I'm near the shops at West End, and according to public data, there are 11 Flock cameras within just a half-mile radius of where we are. And because of the growing pushback about how this data is being used, there are now websites that show where all these ALPR cameras are located. In fact, according to one website called deflock.org, since we took the most direct route driving here from the station in Eden Prairie, we actually drove right past two Flock cameras, so we are now in the system. But the website also shows you how to avoid those cameras. In fact, you follow the green privacy route. That adds about a mile and a half to our trip, but then we stay clear of any of the cameras that track your movements. As more communities, though, cut ties with Flock, the company just announced that it is making some major changes to improve privacy, security, and transparency. Flock says that it will reduce how long it keeps the data. They're going to cut the default retention period from 30 down to just 7 days. They're also introducing a filter that allows cities to share license plate data for crimes, but not for things like immigration enforcement. All law enforcement agencies will also need to begin using audit assistance. That flags any abnormal activity. In fact, Flock says that the system has already helped identify officers who were allegedly misusing the cameras. Flock credits its cameras with finding missing persons and solving countless crimes, but this week alone, at least a half dozen Minnesota cities, including Duluth, you can add Asante and Sherbrooke counties to the list that announced they would stop using Flock cameras. Back to you guys. Alright, Bill Keller for us there with an update. Thank you.