Texas city demands $2M for public records on Flock usage
Summary
A Texas city, North Richland Hills, asked for $2.3 million to provide public records about its use of Flock’s AI-powered camera system that tracks vehicles. This high fee comes from estimating a large amount of work to gather data about errors and misuse in the system, sparking concern from privacy groups and media organizations about access to public information on surveillance practices.Key Facts
- North Richland Hills demanded $2.3 million to fulfill a public records request about Flock camera data.
- The fee estimate is based on 14 years of labor at $15 per hour to review about one terabyte of related data.
- Privacy advocates say fees like this block public scrutiny of how police use surveillance cameras.
- Other cities have charged widely varying fees for Flock records, from free access to $121,000.
- Flock cameras have been linked to abuses such as stalking by some police officers, leading to arrests and investigations.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott stopped Flock funding and permits following misuse revelations.
- Some state agencies, like Texas Department of Public Safety, have tried to block release of Flock data altogether.
- A recent court case ruled that some police use of Flock data violated the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches.
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