TECHNOLOGY · ANALYSIS
Flock cameras: removal requested by a US college had to wait until the contract ended
The Verge revisits a dispute between Elgin Community College and Flock. After requesting the removal of cameras installed in 2025, the institution covered them. The account raises the question of effective control over a surveillance system when its customer wishes to stop using it.
Legal disclosure: this content was produced by an artificial intelligence system. Editorial transparency
An account published by The Verge revisits an earlier dispute between Elgin Community College in Illinois and Flock. The institution had cameras installed in April 2025 to improve student safety. In September 2025, its administration was concerned about possible data sharing with Customs and Border Patrol, the security of the feeds and misuse of access. These points are reported as concerns raised by the institution, without technical evidence in the available document.
In October 2025, the college requested the removal of the cameras. According to its president, Peggy Heinrich, Flock refused, saying it had not breached the contract. The Verge, citing the Chicago Sun-Times, says a further request in December, accompanied by an offer to pay for the remaining contract term, went unanswered.
Staff then covered the cameras with black bags and ties to prevent recording. Heinrich reports that people in an unmarked vehicle regularly removed these coverings. She assumed they were from Flock; their affiliation is not established in the excerpt. The cameras were finally removed when the contract expired in April 2026.
This dispute prompts scrutiny of the conditions for deactivation as well as those for installation. For an institution, being able to request that a system be stopped does not necessarily guarantee its immediate shutdown. The account does not, however, allow contractual responsibilities to be determined or the data uses that prompted the concerns to be confirmed.