00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Saturday, March 2nd.
00:04 Today on Forbes, this $4 billion car surveillance startup says it cuts crime, but it likely
00:12 broke the law.
00:14 The AI surveillance cameras on Johns Pass Bridge, southwest of Tampa, Florida, didn't
00:19 last a week before they were flagged for breaking state rules.
00:24 Installed in February 2023 on behalf of car surveillance startup Flock Safety and its
00:29 customer, the Treasure Island Police Department, the devices had been placed there without
00:33 the approval of the Florida Department of Transportation.
00:36 It wanted them taken down.
00:38 In October, the agency was still waiting for their removal.
00:41 According to emails obtained by Forbes, an FDOT official wrote to Flock, "FDOT is requesting
00:48 that the Flock camera on the Johns Pass Bridge be removed.
00:51 FDOT does not allow installations on our structures except for special cases."
00:58 In November, a Flock employee took the camera down, the company confirmed.
01:03 For Flock, a $4 billion company on a mission to "reduce crime in America by 25 percent,"
01:10 this might sound like a simple paperwork slip-up, an anomaly.
01:14 But it's one of hundreds of such incidents across the country.
01:17 Company communications with state transportation agencies obtained via public records requests
01:22 and interviews with more than half a dozen former employees suggest that in its rush
01:27 to install surveillance cameras in the absence of clear regulatory frameworks, Flock repeatedly
01:32 broke the law in at least five states.
01:35 In two, state agencies have banned Flock staff from installing new cameras.
01:41 These violations are largely the result of the venture-backed startup's habit of installing
01:45 its surveillance devices along public roadways without the necessary permits.
01:50 Those documents are part of an approval process designed to ensure the cameras are positioned
01:54 safely, don't compromise utility lines or traffic lights, and cannot be dislodged by
01:59 bad weather or accidents.
02:01 As one former Flock employee put it, permitting is intended to make certain that "if a car
02:06 hits a camera going 80 miles per hour, it's not going to go through somebody's window
02:09 shield."
02:12 Responding to a detailed list of questions, Flock's spokesperson Josh Thomas told Forbes
02:17 that the company has nearly 50 people dedicated to permitting and "operates to the best of
02:22 our abilities within the bounds of the law."
02:25 He said that since jurisdictional boundaries are not always clear, Flock didn't always
02:29 know when and where it should be applying for a permit.
02:32 Thomas said, "For the tens of thousands of permits we have applied for and the tens of
02:37 thousands of locations that do not require permits, we have certainly not been perfect.
02:41 But we try to respond and fix any issues, or we make the effort to retro-permit as needed."
02:48 Founded in 2017, Flock's surveillance system uses AI to "fingerprint" cars based on make,
02:55 model, and appearance, not just license plate numbers.
02:59 It claims to currently operate in 4,000 cities in over 42 states, where it is found in eager
03:04 clientele in local police departments who say it costs less than competing devices and
03:09 is better at detecting suspect cars.
03:12 A typical Flock camera system starts at $3,000 a year, considerably less than rival Motorola's
03:19 Vigilant system.
03:21 Since 2020, Flock has seen a stunning 2,660% spike in revenue, one that landed it on Deloitte's
03:28 Fast 500 list in 2023.
03:31 Flock declined to comment on revenue numbers.
03:34 That spectacular growth has made investors giddy.
03:38 Flock raised $100 million in a July 2023 fundraise led by Andreessen Horowitz, which valued it
03:44 at over $4 billion.
03:46 But the company's growth has been bolstered by unpermitted deployments.
03:50 Company correspondence reviewed by Forbes reveals that Flock has deployed hundreds of
03:54 unapproved cameras in Florida, Illinois, and South Carolina, where it is a crime to install
03:59 devices on state infrastructure without Department of Transportation approval.
04:04 And it's run afoul of regulators in Texas and Washington over permitting issues.
04:10 For full coverage, check out Thomas Brewster and Cyrus Farivar's piece on Forbes.com.
04:17 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:19 Thanks for tuning in.
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