Full transcript
THE WAR ON IRAN WITH WORLD NEWS
TONIGHT WITH DAVID MUIR.
THE LAPD RECENTLY ENDED ITS
THREE YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH
FLOC, WHICH OPERATES SECURITY
CAMERAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
CRITICS HAVE VOICED CONCERNS
ABOUT PRIVACY AND THE DATA
THOSE CAMERAS COLLECT. OUR
PHILLIP PALMER TALKED
EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE COMPANY'S
CEO.
FLOC IDENTIFIES ITSELF AS A
PUBLIC SAFETY TECHNOLOGY
COMPANY THAT USES CONNECTED
CAMERAS TO HELP COMMUNITIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY RESPOND TO
AND INVESTIGATE SAFETY
INCIDENTS. CRITICS ARGUE THE
COMPANY IS A MASSIVE
SURVEILLANCE OPERATION AND
WORRY PERSONAL DATA IS AT RISK.
THE LAPD HAD TO MAKE A
DIFFICULT DECISION OF
CONTINUING, IN THIS CASE,
DISCONTINUING USING FLOC
SERVICES. UNTIL WE CAN GET
THOSE DATA PRIVACY, SECURITY
AND SHARING CONCERNS IRONED OUT
THROUGH A CONTRACTUAL
RELATIONSHIP.
FLOC CEO GARRETT LANGLEY
SPOKE TO US ABOUT THE LAPD
CANCELLATION AND HOLDS OUT HOPE
THE TWO WILL SOON WORK TOGETHER
AGAIN. WE GOT TO.
TIGHTEN UP THE POLICY, MAKE
SURE EVERYONE'S ALIGNED, AND
THEN TURN IT BACK ON.
WHILE FLOC IS NOT WORKING
WITH LAPD RIGHT NOW, THE
COMPANY STILL HAS DOZENS OF
CAMERAS THROUGHOUT L.A. COUNTY
AND TENS OF THOUSANDS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY. WE'VE SEEN SPOKEN
TO SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO ARE
CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THOSE
CAMERAS ARE WATCHING.
JUST KNOWING THAT THERE'S
CAMERAS LIKE WATCHING YOUR
EVERY MOVE. I MEAN, EVEN IF I'M
OUT WALKING MY DOG OR ANYTHING,
YOU KNOW, IT'S I THINK IT'S
JUST A PRIVACY ISSUE.
BUT LANGLEY SAYS THAT BELIEF
IS A MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
HIS COMPANY ACTUALLY DOES.
THE TECHNOLOGY IS REALLY
SIMPLE. A CAR DRIVES BY, WE
TAKE A PICTURE. IT'S A STATIC
PICTURE OF A CAR, AND THEN WE
READ THE LICENSE PLATE. THAT'S
WHAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS. SO
IT'S ACTUALLY NOT THAT
COMPLICATED. IT'S PRETTY,
PRETTY SIMPLE.
FLOC HOLDS ONTO THE LICENSE
PLATE DATA FOR ONLY 30 DAYS,
ABSENT ANY LOCAL LAW TO THE
CONTRARY. IT'S NOT FACIAL
RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY. IN FACT,
FLOC DOESN'T KNOW WHO IS
DRIVING THE CAR, ONLY THE CAR'S
LOCATION. BUT THE COMPANY
CLAIMS THAT INFORMATION
ASSISTED IN 10,000 MISSING
PERSONS REPORTS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY AND IN 2023 HELPED FIND
CONVICTED FELON JARED POWELL,
WHO'S NOW CHARGED IN THE MURDER
OF FOUR PEOPLE IN LOS ANGELES.
AND DOESN'T THE COMMUNITY
FEEL BETTER NOW THAT THAT
PERSON WAS ONLY ON THE LOOSE
FOR A FEW DAYS? I WISH IT WAS
ONLY A FEW MINUTES, BUT I THINK
MORE AND MORE AS TIME GOES ON,
WE SEE THAT BUILDING CONFIDENCE
IN A COMMUNITY, THAT THEY'RE
GOING TO BE SAFE, THAT THEIR
KIDS CAN GO OUT AND PLAY, THAT
YOU CAN START A BUSINESS IS
CRITICAL TO THRIVING
COMMUNITIES.
LANGLEY BELIEVES STRONGLY
HIS COMPANY NEEDS TO LISTEN TO
CRITICS WHO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT
THE DATA BEING COLLECTED, BUT
ADDS MANY OF THOSE
CONVERSATIONS HAVE LED TO A
DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
FLOC IS ACTUALLY DOING WITH ITS
CAMERAS.
ONCE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT
THE TECHNOLOGY ACTUALLY DOES,
NOT WHAT IT MIGHT DO IN 50
YEARS, NOT WHAT SOMEONE THINKS
IT COULD DO, BUT WHAT IT
ACTUALLY DOES DAY IN AND DAY
OUT, RIGHT? IT TAKES A PICTURE
OF A CAR. MOST PEOPLE GO, THIS
MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. I