Mountain View Cancels Surveillance Contract
The city of Mountain View has cancelled its contract with Flock Safety, a company that provides automated license plate readers. The decision reflects a growing backlash in Silicon Valley over mass surveillance and potential privacy violations associated with the technology.
The unanimous vote by the Mountain View City Council on February 24, 2026, to terminate the contract was prompted by a police department audit. This audit revealed that law enforcement agencies from outside California, including Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Kentucky and Nashville, and Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, had accessed data from the city's license plate readers without authorization. This unauthorized access occurred due to a "National Lookup" feature that Flock Safety had enabled without the city's knowledge. For a period between August and November 2024, data from one of Mountain View's 30 cameras was accessible to these out-of-state and federal agencies, a violation of California state law which prohibits such data sharing. Mountain View Police Chief Mike Canfield announced the shutdown of all 30 Flock cameras on February 2, 2026, expressing a personal loss of confidence in the vendor. The city had launched the pilot program with Flock in mid-2024, with a one-year contract valued at up to $96,800. The decision in Mountain View is part of a larger trend in the Bay Area, with Santa Cruz and Los Altos Hills also voting to end their contracts with Flock Safety in January 2026. These cancellations reflect a growing regional pushback against the surveillance technology due to significant privacy concerns. A local media investigation uncovered that over 250 unapproved California agencies had conducted approximately 600,000 searches of Mountain View's license plate data between December 2024 and December 2025. This was due to a "statewide lookup" tool that was activated without the city's permission, further eroding trust. During the city council meeting, dozens of residents voiced their opposition, with many linking the surveillance technology to fears of its use in federal immigration enforcement. Mayor Emily Ann Ramos stated that public safety must be grounded in community trust and that the program did not reflect the community's priorities. While Police Chief Canfield acknowledged the technology had helped in over 200 cases and led to at least 41 arrests, the unauthorized data sharing was deemed an unacceptable breach. The city is now working with Flock on a timeline for the physical removal of all cameras.
