As fed-up activists target Flock, the AI-powered surveillance camera company is battling back with a massive increase in donations to associations for mayors and other local officials.
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company → feed → mayors
Since the beginning of 2025, Flock has given 700 percent more to the partisan groups representing mayors, attorneys general, and governors than in the previous three years.
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Flock → give → years
The giving has gone to Democratic and Republican groups alike.
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giving → go → groups
Donating to those groups is a time-worn strategy for companies under scrutiny.
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Donating → donate → scrutiny
The gifts can sometimes reap face time with elected officials.
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gifts → reap → officials
Two major Flock competitors in the license-plate reader industry, Axon and Motorola Solutions, have also donated widely.
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competitors → donate → industry
One group that received money from Flock, the Democratic Mayors of America, defended its decision to accept $30,000.
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that → receive → 30,000
A spokesperson said reports of Flock misuse are “deeply unsettling,” while arguing that the donations gave Flock no influence over local mayors.
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donations → say → mayors
Critics of money in politics have long raised concerns that such donations create, at a minimum, the appearance of a conflict of interest.
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donations → raise → interest
A surveillance skeptic said the groups could face blowback.
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groups → say → blowback
“There’s a reputational risk for them accepting donations from Flock at this time,” said Torin Monahan, a professor of communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Monahan → ’ → Hill
Flock did not respond to a request for comment.
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Flock → respond → comment
Over the past year, Flock has faced intense pushback from activists on the left and right over perceived civil liberties abuses.
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Flock → face → abuses
Flock was forced to admit that immigration officials had access to its data, despite earlier denials in the middle of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown last year.
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officials → force → crackdown
Dozens of police officers have also been accused of abusing Flock’s database to track people, often former romantic partners.
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Dozens → accuse → people
Flock was founded in 2017, but it was only five years after that that it began doling out money to what are known as 527 groups, according to records compiled by the nonprofit news outlet ProPublica.
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what → found → outlet
The so-called 527 groups can raise unlimited funds directly from corporations and spend that money on key political races.
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groups → call → races
Flock’s giving began at a relatively meager rate: From 2022 to 2024, the company gave $20,000 to the Democratic Mayors Association and $10,000 to its Republican counterpart, the Community Leaders of America.
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company → begin → America
Its spending has skyrocketed since then.
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spending → skyrocket → ?
Since the beginning of 2025, the company donated a total of $240,000 to a longer list of groups that includes the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations and the Democratic and Republican Attorneys General Associations.
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that → donate → Associations
Flock’s pattern of donating to 527 groups was identified by a widely cited critic of the company, Jason Hunyar, who asked on his blog what the company was receiving in exchange for those donations.
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company → donate → donations
The donations came as Flock was hiring an army of lobbyists.
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Flock → come → lobbyists
It has spent more than $2 million on state and federal lobbying since the start of 2025, according to a recent report from the transparency group OpenSecrets.
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It → spend → group
The rise of that multi-pronged influence campaign coincided with intense pushback to the company’s practices.
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rise → coincide → practices
Several members of Congress have proposed either outright bans or stricter regulations on Flock and other license-plate readers.
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members → propose → Flock
Much of the activism against Flock thus far has come at the local level.
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Much → come → level
Scores of cities and other local governments have rejected or canceled Flock contracts or deactivated the company’s cameras since the start of 2026, according to the advocacy group DeFlock.
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Scores → reject → group
The suspicion crosses party lines.
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suspicion → cross → lines
In Knox County, Tennessee, Republican Mayor Glenn Jacobs — the former professional wrestler Kane — recently led a campaign to cancel the company’s contract there.
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Jacobs → lead → contract
In Arizona, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes announced that she was launching a review of Flock and other camera networks.
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she → announce → Flock
Flock is not the only license-plate reader company that has routed money to political groups.
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that → rout → groups
Motorola Solutions, which counts cameras as one product among many in its portfolio, has donated more than $986,000 since the start of 2023, according to public records.
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which → count → records
Axon, which also hawks Tasers and body-worn cameras, has donated $225,000 to Democratic and Republican attorney general groups over the same period.
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which → hawk → period
(Motorola Solutions and Axon did not respond to requests for comment.)
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Solutions → respond → comment
Making Connections
Corporate donations to 527 groups long been controversial.
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donations → make → groups
Companies can use the groups to build connections with the same elected officials making decisions about whether to purchase their products and services.
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Companies → use → products
More than a decade ago, the New York Times documented how corporations facing lawsuits used donations to the Republican and Democratic attorney general groups to cozy up to decision-makers.
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corporations → document → makers
On its website, the Democratic Mayors Association touts a program that connects mayors “with leaders from the private sector, organized labor, advocacy groups, and partner organizations to build relationships, share ideas, and take on the most pressing challenges facing America’s cities.”
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that → tout → cities
That group defended its decision to accept donations from Flock.
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group → defend → Flock
“No donation made to the Democratic Mayors Association guarantees any form of influence over the mayors, no matter who the donor is,” said a spokesperson.
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spokesperson → make → mayors
…and 40 more, not listed.
The Aporia
