Flock has announced a safety tool that automatically detects suspicious activity and locks out cops who abuse their access to stalk people they know. The tech aims to intervene before misuse becomes widespread, but experts are skeptical about its effectiveness.

The tool has been available since April as an optional free feature, but only a third of agencies opted in. After the Georgia sheriff’s office used it and arrested three officers for stalking, Flock CEO Garrett Langley admitted they made a mistake and now want to make it mandatory.

No data on how well the tech works is publicly available. The ACLU recommended an independent evaluator review the tool, warning that there's no evidence yet that it consistently addresses the issue of stalker cops using Flock cameras to spy on exes.

The Georgia case isn't unique; identification of abuse predictably went up for agencies that chose to activate the tool. But experts caution that without proper evaluation, we don’t know if this is a real security measure or just window dressing.