The key facts
- Flock CEO Garret Langley said at TechCrunch Disrupt that the company's microphones detect 'only gunshots'
- Flock's website and its representative confirm that the system also identifies fireworks, 'side shows,' and possible crashes
- The product faces criticism from privacy advocates; Texas and Florida have cut ties with the company, and Ring ended its partnership
Statement on stage versus website materials
Speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Flock co-founder and CEO Garret Langley defended the Gunshot Detection product — microphones that listen to the urban environment for gunshots. According to him, the system detects 'only gunshots.' However, Flock's website describes broader capabilities: instant detection of gunfire, early identification of 'street takeovers,' real-time recognition of serious crashes, as well as alerts about fireworks, crashes, and 'side shows.' The FAQ section adds that the detection library is 'constantly expanding' based on customer needs.
The story about detecting screams
The Gunshot Detection feature, announced last year, immediately drew criticism: Flock initially stated that the technology would listen for 'screams.' Privacy groups condemned the monitoring of human voices, after which the company changed the wording to 'sounds of human distress,' and then, according to it, completely removed the 'distress' detection feature from customers who were testing it.
Langley's responses and the company's position
Langley called criticism of the product misinformation and said that many critics do not understand how it works. He explained the origin of the feature: 'Most people don't call 911 when they hear a gunshot — that's why we built the product. And then some customers said: we have these microphones in parking lots, it would be great to get alerts if someone is being abducted or harmed.' According to him, the idea was prototyped for several customers but raised concerns, and the company decided to limit the system to gunshots. When asked about the contradiction with marketing materials, he repeated: 'It's just gunshots.' Flock representative Paris Lewbel, in a comment to TechCrunch, clarified that the technology 'is primarily used to detect gunfire, but is also capable of identifying fireworks, side shows, and possible crashes,' and emphasized that the system is not intended to listen to conversations or analyze speech and does not currently detect screams or distress.
Growing pressure on the company
The appearance took place amid growing criticism of Flock from privacy advocates, including the ACLU, and the public; in San Francisco, protesters gathered outside the venue. Langley also stated that the number of Flock microphones is comparable to ShotSpotter, which, according to Wired data from 2024, had about 25,000 microphones. Distrust of the company is intensifying: Texas and Florida announced they were ending cooperation with Flock, and Amazon Ring severed its partnership with it. Some surveillance opponents go as far as destroying the company's cameras.
