Santa Clara County to review Flock Safety cameras amid privacy concerns
Santa Clara County to review Flock Safety cameras amid privacy concerns
Publish Date: 2026-03-19 04:03:00
Source Domain: thecampanile.org
Across Santa Clara County, a small piece of roadside hardware has become a primary subject of controversy. Cameras with automatic license-plate reading features, operated by Atlanta-based security firm Flock Safety, have come under scrutiny because of rising privacy concerns related to mass surveillance of citizens and concerns that local data could be helping federal deportation efforts.
Santa Clara County District Two Supervisor Betty Duong said that Flock is unreliable when it comes to upholding county policies.
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“Cupertino is using Flock cameras; Saratoga is using Flock cameras; Los Altos is using Flock cameras, and they’ve canceled those contracts,” Duong said. “It is a vendor that seems problematic on the national landscape in terms of violating policies they sign onto.”
Duong said other counties are also concerned about Flock’s lack of data security.
“The number of cities that have cancelled their contracts with Flock and the number of advocates who have raised concerns specifically about Flock sharing data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and with federal agencies when they weren’t allowed to is really worrisome,” Duong said.
Similar worries have surfaced in Palo Alto. Palo Alto Neighborhoods Association co-chair Becky Sanders said privacy issues related to Flock cameras raise serious concerns for her.
“Virtually everyone supported ending a relationship with Flock,” Sanders said. “We would like the city to just turn them off until we can be 100% sure that the data is not being used in a way that it wasn’t designed.”
Duong said an investigation has been launched to determine whether Flock security is reliable and private.
“I’ve continued the extension of the [Flock contract] policy for a month, so that our account council, our attorneys and our administration can do a deep dive into what’s happening with Flock,” Duong said.
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