Flock Employees Accessed Sensitive Cameras in Atlanta Suburb for Sales Demos, Renews Contract Despite Controversy

Residents of Dunwoody, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, were alarmed to learn that sales employees at Flock accessed sensitive surveillance cameras in the city to demonstrate the company’s technology to police departments nationwide. The accessed cameras included locations such as a children’s gymnastics room, a playground, a school, a Jewish community center, and a pool.

Flock disputed the characterization of its actions but confirmed that camera access did occur as part of its sales demonstrations. Jason Hunyar, a Dunwoody resident, uncovered the access logs through a public records request and published a blog post titled "Why Are Flock Employees Watching Our Children?"

In response, Flock pushed back against claims of improper surveillance in statements to 404 Media, social media posts, a blog, and city council meetings. A Flock spokesperson told 404 Media:

"The city of Dunwoody is one city in our demo partner program. The cities involved in this program have authorized select Flock employees to demonstrate new products and features as we develop them in partnership with the city. Moreover, select engineers can access accounts with customer permission to debug or fix any issues that may arise. No one is spying on children in parks, as the substack incorrectly asserts."

Flock also argued that it is more transparent than other surveillance companies because it maintains access logs that can be obtained via public records requests. The company stated:

"We're one of the few technology companies in this space dedicated to radical transparency [...] I understand the concern from the resident, but it is unequivocally false to assert that Flock, or the police, or city officials are doing anything other than using technology to stop major crimes in the city."

The records obtained by Hunyar revealed that some accessed cameras were in highly sensitive locations, including the pool at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) in Dunwoody, the children’s gymnastics room at MJCCA, and multiple fitness centers and studios. The logs also showed that Flock’s surveillance systems in Dunwoody extended beyond city-owned cameras to include privately owned cameras.

Image: City of Dunwoody

Following Hunyar’s public disclosure, Flock agreed to stop using Dunwoody’s cameras for product demonstrations. The company’s FAQ page states:

• "Flock customers own their data."
• "Flock will not share, sell, or access your data."
• "Nobody from Flock Safety is accessing or monitoring your footage."

Flock also published a blog post highlighting that one of the benefits communities value about its technology is the ability for law enforcement to access privately owned cameras—only if the organization permits it.