Flock's Major Rivals as Cameras Spark Increasing Backlash

0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Flock Safety's automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are facing one of the biggest challenges in the company's history as a growing number of cities and counties across the United States move to cancel contracts, deactivate cameras or reject new deployments amid mounting privacy concerns.

Data from the privacy advocacy group DeFlock the USA shows that 46 communities have canceled Flock contracts, 20 have rejected proposed contracts, 19 have deactivated Flock cameras, eight have removed cameras and 12 have paused or suspended programs.

Yet as Flock comes under increasing scrutiny, local governments are looking for alternatives, and competitors—particularly Axon, Motorola, Rekor, Verkada and Genetec—are positioning themselves to take Flock's place, according to Civic IQ, a business-to-government market intelligence platform that tracks government procurement activity and contracts.

The backlash against ALPRs has accelerated throughout 2026, with communities raising concerns about government surveillance, data sharing, potential federal access to vehicle records and allegations of misuse by law enforcement officers.

Critics argue that large-scale ALPR networks allow authorities to build extensive databases of drivers' movements without warrants, while supporters maintain the technology is an important crime-fighting tool.

Newsweek contacted Flock, Axon and Rekor for comment via email outside normal working hours.

Perhaps the biggest beneficiary to the backlash against Flock could be Axon, the Arizona-based public safety technology giant best known for its Taser devices and body-worn cameras.

During a recent earnings call, CEO Rick Smith said the company was seeing "a significant number of agencies" looking to switch to Axon's ALPR products because of what he described as stronger privacy controls.

Axon's advantage may lie in its broader ecosystem. Unlike Flock, which is primarily known for its camera network, Axon integrates license plate readers with evidence management software, body camera footage and real-time crime center tools, according to the company's website. Supporters argue that this creates more oversight and more accountability.

However, Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told NPR that switching from Flock to Axon amounts to "replacing one color of camera for another color of camera," and that the underlying privacy concerns will still be there as the capability to track vehicle movements remains pretty much the same.

Motorola Solutions is another major player seeking to capitalize on the controversy.

The company has offered ALPR technology for years through its Vigilant platform and is among the biggest companies competing with Flock in the ALPR market.

Motorola markets its system as an enterprise-grade platform capable of integrating with police databases and wider public-safety infrastructure. Its scale and long-standing law-enforcement relationships could make it an attractive option for agencies reconsidering Flock.

But critics note that Motorola's platform performs many of the same functions that have sparked opposition to Flock. For many surveillance advocates, the concerns are not company-specific but stem from the technology itself.

Verkada, a cloud-managed security company, has emerged as a growing competitor in the ALPR market, according to Civic IQ. The firm offers license plate recognition as part of a wider security camera platform used by businesses, schools and government agencies. Verkada is the closest alternative to Flock for smaller cities that are looking to install ALPR technology without needing on-premise infrastructure, Civic said.

Verkada's pitch focuses on integrating ALPR capabilities with broader physical security systems, offering customers a more comprehensive surveillance solution. However, like Flock, the company relies on camera networks and vehicle-recognition technology that privacy campaigners say can create detailed records of people's movements.

Other competitors frequently cited by procurement specialists include Rekor and Genetec. Rekor has focused on transportation corridors, highways and traffic-management applications, while Genetec markets its AutoVu platform as part of larger city surveillance and video-management systems.

Both companies are likely to benefit from agencies issuing new requests for proposals as cities reassess existing contracts.

The emerging consensus among privacy advocates is that Flock's rivals may offer different software, policies or governance features, but they don't eliminate the core concerns surrounding ALPR technology.

DeFlock activists and surveillance experts argue that the controversy extends beyond a single company, as concerns about vehicle tracking, data retention and police access apply across the industry. DeFlock's crowdsourced map shows more than 130,000 ALPR cameras nationwide.

Flock's current troubles could represent both a commercial opportunity and a warning for competitors. While some agencies might swap vendors, the broader public debate increasingly centers on whether large-scale vehicle surveillance networks should exist at all .

For now, Axon, Motorola Solutions, Verkada, Rekor and Genetec are positioning themselves to fill any gap left by Flock .

The question facing local governments is whether choosing a different provider resolves residents' concerns or simply replaces one surveillance network with another.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Shakeema Edwards .

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