Bay Area Cities Clash Over Flock Surveillance Tech
As some Bay Area cities discontinue their use of Flock surveillance cameras, a debate is heating up among South Bay mayors over crime prevention versus immigration privacy concerns. The controversy has prompted a public hearing on surveillance technology, scheduled for Monday in San Francisco, to address the diverging views.
Flock Safety's automated license plate readers are at the center of the controversy, with a key concern being data sharing with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This has led to cities like Mountain View, Los Altos Hills, and Santa Cruz terminating their contracts with the company, citing violations of California laws that restrict sharing such data with out-of-state and federal agencies. In January, Santa Cruz became the first city in the state to end its contract with Flock, with councilmembers stating the company had "made too many mistakes" and had not responded with transparency and accountability. Mountain View followed suit in February after a police audit revealed that federal agencies had accessed their camera data without the city's permission through a "nationwide" search setting enabled by Flock. Mountain View Mayor Emily Ann Ramos stated, "Public safety must be grounded in community trust, and after hearing significant feedback from residents, the Council determined that this program does not best reflect our community's priorities." The city's 30 automated license plate reader cameras were turned off on February 2nd and the city council unanimously voted to terminate the contract on February 24th. Conversely, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has championed the use of Flock cameras, crediting them with the arrest of around 200 suspects and the recovery of $2 million in stolen vehicles in the past year. He has plans to expand the city's network from 235 to 500 cameras. This expansion has prompted legal challenges, with the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation suing San Jose. The lawsuit argues that the extensive camera network constitutes warrantless mass surveillance and violates the state constitution. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is also reconsidering its relationship with Flock, with a 3-2 vote in favor of drafting a stronger privacy policy around surveillance tools. This decision will impact the use of Flock cameras in Cupertino, Saratoga, and Los Altos Hills, which are policed by the county sheriff's office. In San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors' Rules Committee has ongoing discussions regarding surveillance technology policies. The city, which has previously banned facial recognition technology, is now grappling with the use of 400 new automated license plate readers that are being installed to combat retail and motor vehicle theft. A class-action lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court against Flock Safety on February 26, 2026. The suit alleges the company violates California's ALPR Privacy Act by sharing license plate data with out-of-state and federal agencies. It claims that data from San Francisco's cameras was accessed by federal agencies over 1.6 million times in a seven-month period.
