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Axon pitches AI privacy tools as Flock loses contracts
Following data misuse concerns that led cities like Chandler to drop Flock, Axon CEO Rick Smith says agencies are shifting to Axon's license plate readers. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen reports.
PHOENIX - Multiple Arizona law enforcement agencies have canceled contracts with Flock this month over police misuse of data. Now, a major local company says it is stepping in to fill the void.
Local perspective:
Scottsdale-based Axon, well known for its Tasers and body cameras, says it is building artificial intelligence tools to prevent misuse of its license plate readers.
With a lot of agencies nationally turning to Axon, questions remain over whether its license plate reader data is any different. Flock has been under fire following canceled contracts and investigations of misuse across multiple law enforcement entities.
"We want guardrails. We want our officers to know that if you use this type of technology in a way that it's not meant for, you are going to be held responsible," said Chief Michael Pooley of the Apache Junction Police Department.
Surprise, Chandler, and Pinal County have canceled contracts with Flock's automated license plate readers, while other cities have made major changes. With Flock losing contracts, its biggest competition is coming from Scottsdale-based Axon.
During Axon's quarterly earnings report, Axon Founder and CEO Rick Smith addressed the movement away from Flock.
"We're seeing a significant number of agencies want to come over to Axon and convert from existing license plate readers to us, specifically because of the controls and privacy work that we've done around the space," Smith said.
RELATED STORIES
- Surprise cancels Flock contract, asks company to remove all equipment
- Apache Junction officer accused of misusing Flock license plate reader resigned prior to firing: Docs
- Chandler police end Flock camera use amid probe into potential misuse
Traffic flows past an Axon brand automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The other side:
This past weekend, protesters mocked the cameras and surveillance outside Axon's headquarters. The Electronic Frontier Foundation noted that the underlying concern extends beyond a single vendor.
"Two parts of the same problem. There's not really... the way we see it, there is not good surveillance or bad surveillance... it's just government surveillance of your movements," said Rindala Alajaji of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Flock has made recent changes regarding data retention and increasing oversight. In the Axon earnings report, Smith said the company is working to ensure it can stop the abuse of data.
"We'll be building AI tools to watch for anomalous search behavior, so that we're watching out for potentially abusive patterns and people have access to the data," Smith said.
Inquiries were made to Axon to learn more about the artificial intelligence tools being built and how the company believes they will better protect personal data from being abused, but Axon did not respond.