MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - The Mountain View City Council voted unanimously to end the city's contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate reading cameras on Tuesday. Mountain View now joins a growing list of cities that have ended contracts with or sued Flock Safety over data privacy concerns.
Earlier this month, the Mountain View Chief of Police Mike Canfield informed residents that federal agencies had accessed the city's ALPR data against the city's policies.
"If we were going to use a tool, the goal of that tool is to benefit our community and not cause harm. So this is why we moved so fast," Mountain View Mayor Emily Ann Ramos told KTVU.
Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers have been a helpful tool for Bay Area law enforcement agencies, often aiding in criminal arrests and the recovery of stolen property.
But when Canfield learned out-of-state agencies had accessed data from their cameras, without the city’s awareness or permission, he turned them off.
"I’m so happy that the chief took it upon himself to pause it. He didn’t have the authority to cancel the contract without council, so he had to pause it," Ramos said.
Flock has previously said it does not share data with federal agencies unless authorized.
What they're saying:
The County of Santa Clara also took notice. Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong says her county can’t risk working with a vendor that cannot protect its data.
"Until they get their situation right, I cannot, in good conscience, allow our county to be involved or engaged with a vendor that is so problematic right now," Duong told KTVU.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to end the county's access to Flock Safety cameras and their data. As of that vote, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office will no longer have access to the ALPR data either.
The sheriff's office confirmed to KTVU that it has not shared any county data with federal agencies, but it still supports the "responsible deployment" of ALPR tech.
"License plate readers help us solve violent crimes and keep our neighbors safe," Sheriff Robert Jonsen said. "The results speak for themselves."
Supervisor Duong says she wants her residents to be a part of shaping the use of AI and ALPR tech, perhaps with another vendor.
"Without local government's voice, without the residents' voice, there would be no one creating policies around usage and best practices for these things," Duong told KTVU.
But city leadership in Mountain View says new surveillance tech isn’t coming their city’s way any time soon.
"This was such a big breach of trust for our community. It’s gonna take some time for our community to rebuild that trust altogether with any kind of technology," Ramos said.
Some cities in the county still have contracts with Flock Safety, and Supervisor Duong says, if they choose to move to new vendors, the county will reassess ALPR usage at that time.