The backlash against Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers has reached a new level of intensity, with Joe Rogan now adding his voice to a growing chorus of critics, and the company’s CEO drawing sharp criticism for his response.
Sources state that on a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan didn’t hold back. “I’m worried. I don’t like this Flock camera thing. It freaks me out,” he said. “There’s people that have had access to these things that probably shouldn’t have access to, and they’re getting arrested. So it’s like, how long was this going on? What has happened?”
He continued, “How many lives have been altered forever because someone had access to this and some cop who wasn’t supposed to did something to someone that he wouldn’t have been able to do.” Rogan added, “They can’t just spy on us and just be a corporation and have access to all the license plates and all the cars, and now they can track you through GPS and the unique characteristics of your phone.”
Rogan’s comments landed just days after Flock’s CEO appeared on Fox News and suggested that privacy simply requires compromise.
“I value my privacy, my family’s privacy, my employees value their privacy. But what we’re talking about is safety as well,” he said. “I think when people talk about just one of these, privacy or safety, they’re prioritizing the wrong thing. What we have to prioritize as a country is compromise. How do we have our safety and how do we balance privacy.”
That framing did not land well. Lawmakers pushed back hard, with critics arguing that constitutional rights aren’t up for negotiation.
Senator Bernie Sanders announced plans to introduce legislation aimed at stopping Flock and AI-driven mass surveillance, asking, “Do we want to live in an America where AI companies like Flock can work with the government to track our every movement? Do we want to live in an America where our privacy rights and civil liberties enshrined in the Constitution are traded away so that AI oligarchs can collect more information and increase their profits?”
The pressure is not confined to one party. Senator Josh Hawley has launched a formal investigation into Flock, sending a letter to the CEO stating that “in a few short years, Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network,” and demanding documents on law enforcement access, data handling policies, known misuse cases and camera accuracy.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also voiced discomfort with the technology, saying, “I don’t want to have this become a surveillance state. I don’t want to be in a situation where these tech companies, a handful of tech companies, know everything about you and know where you’re going.”
With Rogan’s massive audience now amplifying concerns already shared by senators, governors and ordinary residents removing cameras from their towns, Flock’s leadership faces mounting pressure to answer for how its technology is used and who ultimately controls the data it collects.
