Can UDOT Pull the Plug on Flock Cameras?
DOT Tech News
October 12, 2026 · Transportation Technology Briefing
Good morning, DOT tech nerds and professionals. This week we are looking at a contract story that every transportation tech decision-maker should read carefully. A Utah advocacy group found a clause that may give UDOT the power to terminate its Flock Safety camera agreement right now, and the implications go well beyond one state.
In this week's DOT Tech News:
- Utah Advocates Find Contract Clause That Could Let UDOT Pull the Plug on Flock Cameras Today
Utah Advocates Find Contract Clause That Could Let UDOT Pull the Plug on Flock Cameras Today
A Utah civic group says the state's transportation department doesn't need the Legislature to act — it can terminate its Flock Safety contract right now.
The Utah Civic Compact combed through UDOT's contract with Flock Group Inc. and found a termination clause allowing the agency to end the agreement if it "determines that the public does not support the Company's activities." The group argues that recent vandalism of cameras and months of public outcry already meet that threshold. UDOT doesn't operate the cameras itself but grants permits for their installation along state highways at the request of law enforcement agencies.
UDOT spokesperson John Gleason confirmed agency attorneys were reviewing the contract but pushed back on the group's framing. He said the department focuses on equipment, highway safety, and permitting paperwork — not policy questions about whether the cameras should exist. Those decisions, he said, belong to the law enforcement agencies that requested the installations. UDOT also cannot access data collected by the devices and does not control camera placement or operations.
The broader Flock Safety debate is intensifying across Utah. Governor Spencer Cox said in August that Americans "should be deeply concerned" about police misusing license plate data, and he directed two state privacy bodies to review current rules. Flock's network claims its platform helps solve roughly 2,000 crimes per day, and law enforcement groups lobbied lawmakers last month to preserve the technology.
Why it matters: DOT agencies across the country routinely grant permits and right-of-way access for third-party surveillance infrastructure — and Utah's situation signals that transportation managers may face growing pressure to treat those contracts as levers in public privacy debates, not just paperwork.
Source: Utah News Dispatch
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