After Senate testimony, Benn Jordan thinks surveillance’s problem is much bigger than Flock

From music to surveillance reporting

Benn Jordan has spent much of his life as a musician, releasing experimental music for decades. In recent years, he has also drawn attention for investigating Flock Safety, which makes automatic license plate readers and the software behind them.

Jordan recently testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee hearing on Flock and other ALPR systems. The hearing came amid growing criticism and bipartisan opposition to Flock.

Fallout for Flock Safety

Jordan says Flock’s response to critics made it an easy target, while competitors including Axon and Motorola are building similar networks. He says he does not hate Flock as a company.

A wider surveillance debate

Jordan says he now communicates directly with Flock, including its CEO Garrett Langley, and reports security vulnerabilities he finds. He describes that contact as an effort to pursue practical solutions to surveillance overreach, not to bring down one company.

He argues that the broader concern is the relationship among private industry, government and law enforcement, which he says can favor secrecy over transparency. His work with researchers, civil rights groups and journalists aims to hold that system accountable and put privacy concerns before the public.