Flock is pulling its plan to use its microphone network to monitor for signs of 'human distress' — but…
- Flock is abandoning plans for a 'human distress detection' feature
- It had previously been rolled out as a small trial
- Consumer groups say it's evidence of 'mission creep' from the company
It's fair to say Flock isn't the most popular tech company at the moment, with major consumer concerns around surveillance and privacy in regards to its widespread license plate cameras — but it has at least now pulled one of its most contentious features.
That feature is 'human distress detection', which was recently trialed on a small scale, and used Flock's network of urban acoustic detectors to listen out for sounds of human screaming and panic. If those sounds were detected, then the police would be alerted, potentially giving law enforcement a head start in responding to an incident.
After "careful consideration and community consultation", Flock says it's now removing the human detection element. The acoustic detectors remain in...
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