Flock CEO says mics detect just gunshots, defying site
Flock CEO Garrett Langley claimed his audio systems detect only gunshots during Disrupt, contradicting the company website.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Flock CEO Garrett Langley stated at Disrupt that company microphones detect only gunshots.
- The official Flock website explicitly states its systems can also detect fireworks and crashes.
- Protesters gathered outside the San Francisco venue amid growing surveillance concerns.
- A Flock spokesperson clarified that the tech focuses on gunshots but handles other disruptions too.
During the Disrupt conference held in San Francisco, Flock CEO Garrett Langley took the stage while protesters gathered outside the venue to voice their opposition against the company amid rising public unease over mass surveillance and license plate reading technologies.
During his interview, Langley pushed back against critics, arguing that many misunderstand how his products function. However, when asked about the direct contradiction between his remarks and the company's marketing materials—which state that the audio systems can pinpoint gunfire, detect street takeovers, and identify severe crashes—Langley responded simply that it is just gunshots.
Photo by Kevin Gonzalez / Unsplash
Following the event, Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel told TechCrunch that the gunshot detection technology is primarily used for gunfire but is also capable of detecting fireworks, sideshows, and potential car crashes. Lewbel added that Langley's remarks were meant to emphasize that the technology does not monitor conversations, analyze speech, or detect human screaming.
Additionally, the FAQ section on the company website notes that in addition to gunshots, the audio detection tools can spot fireworks, sideshows, and other disruptive community events, with a detection library that continually expands to meet emerging customer threats.
The discrepancy between a CEO's verbal statements and a company's promotional documentation highlights the critical communication hurdles tech firms face regarding privacy and transparency. As law enforcement agencies increasingly adopt acoustic gunshot detection and automated surveillance tools, public backlash from civil liberties groups like the ACLU and contract terminations by state governments underscore the delicate balance between public safety and digital surveillance oversight.
Addressing the scale of the deployment, Langley stated that the number of Flock microphones is comparable to ShotSpotter, which operated about 25,000 microphones as of 2024 according to reporting by Wired.
Langley's comments arrive amid mounting scrutiny from privacy advocates and the public over potential technology misuse, highlighted by incidents of surveillance cameras being destroyed and states like Texas and Florida moving to end their business relationships with Flock.
Source: TechCrunch
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