Mountain View Scraps License Plate Reader Contract
The city of Mountain View has cancelled its contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate readers, citing resident concerns about mass surveillance. The decision to halt the police technology program could influence debates in other Bay Area cities, like Fremont, that use or are considering similar systems.
The unanimous vote by the Mountain View City Council to end its contract with Flock Safety came after a city audit revealed data from its 30 automated license plate readers had been improperly accessed. A "nationwide" search setting was enabled without the city's knowledge, allowing federal and out-of-state law enforcement agencies to view the data, a violation of California law. Over a year, more than 250 unapproved agencies conducted approximately 600,000 searches of Mountain View's records. Police Chief Mike Canfield, who had initially supported the pilot program, shut down the cameras on February 2nd and recommended the contract's termination, stating he no longer had confidence in the vendor. The city had paid Flock Safety $154,650 since the program began. Mountain View is not alone in its decision. The cities of Santa Cruz and Los Altos Hills also recently terminated their contracts with Flock Safety over similar data-sharing and privacy concerns. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has also taken steps to prohibit the county sheriff from contracting with the company. These cancellations reflect a growing backlash against the surveillance company in the Bay Area and beyond. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Flock in San Francisco Superior Court, alleging the company illegally shares data across state lines. Dozens of cities nationwide have reportedly ended their use of Flock cameras since the beginning of 2025. The Fremont Police Department utilizes a network of cameras, including seven Flock ALPRs managed by its Environmental Services department. While the city has had a license plate reader program since 2014, the recent events in neighboring cities are likely to intensify scrutiny of its own systems and vendor relationships. Privacy advocates argue that mass surveillance does not inherently improve public safety and that no internal safeguards can fully prevent the violation of constitutional rights. In contrast, some law enforcement officials, including the Santa Clara County Sheriff, maintain that the technology is valuable for apprehending individuals who have committed serious, violent crimes, as long as strict data access policies are in place. Flock Safety has stated that it does not have contracts with federal agencies like ICE and that customers own and control their own data. The company maintains that it has disabled out-of-state and federal data sharing for its California clients to comply with state law. Mountain View Mayor Emily Ann Ramos stated that public safety must be grounded in community trust and that the license plate reader program did not reflect the community's priorities. The city is now arranging for the removal of the stationary cameras as soon as possible.
