Surveillance company Flock barred journalists from its police conference in Atlanta, and the pushback is bad news for a firm already facing political heat from both parties.

• A reporter bought a ticket to Flock's Atlanta conference for police and officials, then was turned away and had his hotel room cancelled by a Flock employee without being told.
• He flew a drone with a zoom lens over the event and used facial recognition on the crowd — the same technology Flock sells to police.
• That turned up Minnesota state senator Julian Ortman, who is a partner in a consulting firm paid by Flock to hunt for new police contracts.
• Flock's CEO defended the business by comparing bans on the technology to banning cars, arguing for rules rather than prohibition.
• The bigger worry is that Flock is locking up the whole market: once police departments' data sits with one company, switching becomes nearly impossible.

Outlook: Expect more scrutiny from libertarian-leaning Republicans and calls for a pause, though talk of reining Flock in is likely to stay talk through the campaign season.