Class action lawsuit alleges Flock license plate readers violate CA law and privacy of residents

Lawsuit alleges Flock cameras violate Californians' privacy

A class action lawsuit alleges that Flock's license plate reading cameras are breaking the law and violating Californians' privacy by sharing their information with out-of-state law enforcement agencies. The Oakland-based group that filed the lawsuit alleges that out-of-state agencies searched the San Francisco database more than 1.6 million times in a seven-month period.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Flock Safety is facing a class action lawsuit. Filed by an Oakland-based firm, it alleges the company's license plate reading cameras are violating the law and the privacy of California residents.

"The problem that we allege, is that Flock is sharing this information on California drivers with out-of-state law enforcement and the federal government, which is illegal under California law," says David Berger, a partner with Gibbs Mura.

What they're saying:

The problem, they say, is huge. For example, they believe Flock allowed out-of-state agencies to search the San Francisco Police Department's database more than 1.6 million times over a seven-month period. In Los Altos, they say the number of outside searches was also more than a million.

Some departments, like Mountain View, found violations and terminated their Flock contracts immediately.

One of the biggest concerns: that federal agencies might access the cameras. In El Cerrito, an audit found that to be the case. At first, it happened when the cameras were newly installed, but then it happened again later when settings should have prevented the intrusion.

"We found these two other incidents of federal sharing that came as a surprise to me," Chief Paul Keith of the El Cerrito Police Department said.

The other side:

But Chief Keith says Flock has been responsive and put new safeguards in place.

"The modern version of Flock really does take that out of the department's hand. The first thing that pops up now when you log into flock is this is only for California agencies, this whole disclaimer before you can even access the system now," Keith said.

Other departments, like San Jose, are taking safeguards a step further. They plan to demand more documentation from outside agencies, plus limit the location of cameras, and how long they hold onto data.

Dig deeper:

Still, lawyers say this is not enough. The class action suit demands compensation for millions of victims in California as well as changes to the way Flock operates.

"They have to be beholden to the laws they claim they are trying to enforce, just like everybody else," Berger said.

Flock released a statement saying in part it "takes privacy, legal compliance, and data security extremely seriously," adding, "Flock intends to vigorously defend itself against the asserted claims and allegations."