Flock Reinstalled Cameras in California City After Privacy Dispute

Authorities in Grass Valley, California, removed Flock’s automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras after canceling the company’s contract over data privacy concerns. They later discovered that Flock had reinstalled and serviced some of the devices without permission from the city or police force.

Grass Valley Police Chief Alexander Gammelgard had said the contract was canceled because “Hundreds of thousands of California agency queries were being performed against our data.” The police force removed all of Flock’s cameras in mid-August, according to Fox40.

Flock told Fox40 that it restored the cameras because they had been removed before the cancellation process was complete. The company said its “automated maintenance system” created work orders and sent repair crews to reinstall them.

The dispute comes as local governments face pressure to abandon Flock’s cameras. A report from 404 Media, cited by Newsweek, said cities from California to New York State had chosen Axon products instead. Some authorities said Axon met public safety requirements while protecting user privacy.

However, switching suppliers does not necessarily end opposition to ALPR technology. The ACLU has argued that replacing Flock’s surveillance with another company’s surveillance may not resolve the privacy and civil-liberties concerns linked to mass surveillance.