Atlanta-based Flock spends millions lobbying across U.S., but not in Georgia

ATLANTA, Ga. – Flock Safety has spent more than $2 million lobbying federal and state governments since the beginning of 2025 as scrutiny of its nationwide license plate camera network intensifies — but the Atlanta-based company apparently did not spend those lobbying dollars in its home state of Georgia.

An OpenSecrets investigation published Thursday found Flock spent nearly $1.3 million on federal lobbying between January 2025 and July 2026 and at least another $1 million lobbying in statehouses across the country. The watchdog organization analyzed federal records and lobbying disclosures from all 50 states.

The footprint is substantial.

OpenSecrets found Flock had active lobbyists in 34 states during 2025 and/or 2026, frequently employing people with previous government experience. Five of the seven lobbyists working for Flock this year had previously worked in government, according to the organization.

Georgia stands out for another reason: Flock is based here.

The company is headquartered in Atlanta, where its license plate recognition technology has become increasingly common among Georgia law enforcement agencies. Yet OpenSecrets’ review did not identify Georgia among the states where Flock reported state-level lobbying activity.

Across Georgia’s borders, the picture is different.

In Tennessee, Flock paid its lobbying team between $25,000 and $50,000 in 2025 and again in 2026, according to OpenSecrets. Tennessee reports lobbying compensation in ranges rather than exact amounts. Flock also reported less than $10,000 in lobbying expenses there during each year.

Records also show Flock established a lobbying presence elsewhere in the Southeast. Alabama’s registered lobbyist records list Flock Group Inc., doing business as Flock Safety, as a client, while South Carolina records currently identify lobbyists representing Flock Safety. North Carolina lobbying records have also listed Flock Group Inc. as a principal.

The spending extends well beyond the Southeast.

OpenSecrets found Flock spent $169,000 lobbying in Massachusetts since January 2025 on matters involving police, fire and law enforcement organizations. In Wisconsin, the company spent $102,000 lobbying on legislation that would have created grants allowing law enforcement agencies to purchase license plate reader systems.

At the federal level, the numbers are larger.

OpenSecrets reported Flock spent $840,000 on federal lobbying in 2025 and another $430,000 during the first part of 2026. Its lobbying activity included Congress and the White House and covered subjects including homeland security, law enforcement, crime and criminal justice.

Among those representing the company is Bryan Lanza of Mercury Public Affairs, who served as communications director for President Donald Trump’s first presidential transition team. OpenSecrets also identified former congressional staffers among Flock’s lobbying ranks.

The money comes as Flock faces growing scrutiny over what began as a crime-fighting technology and has developed into a vast nationwide vehicle-location network.

Flock says its technology is used in more than 6,000 communities across 49 states. Police agencies have credited automated license plate readers with helping investigators locate stolen vehicles, identify suspects and develop leads in serious criminal investigations.

But a series of misuse cases has increasingly shifted attention from what the cameras can do to who is watching the people using them.

That debate has been particularly visible in Georgia, where multiple law enforcement officers have faced investigations, termination or criminal charges connected to alleged improper use of Flock searches.

The scrutiny has now reached Washington.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, chairman of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, launched an investigation this week into Flock’s collection, retention and sharing of vehicle data. Hawley is seeking records from the company concerning access to the network, camera placement and its handling of data.

Flock has said it is working to strengthen safeguards and improve privacy protections.

The company’s political spending remains overwhelmingly focused on lobbying rather than campaign contributions.

OpenSecrets found no Flock employee political action committee and no independent expenditure committee financed by the company or its executives. CEO Garrett Langley’s only identified federal political contribution was $1,000 in 2024 to Health Jobs Justice, a leadership PAC associated with Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

That leaves an unusual contrast in Georgia.

The company whose cameras have become the subject of an expanding debate over privacy, police accountability and government surveillance is headquartered in Atlanta — while much of its documented effort to influence public policy has been directed at Washington and state capitals outside Georgia.