A local law firm filed a lawsuit against Flock alleging that out-of-state agencies were given access to data from the SFPD’s cameras more than 1.6 million times, and a recent audit by the El Cerrito's police department found that several federal agencies were briefly given access to its data.
As KTVU reports, Oakland-based law firm Gibbs Mura filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday claiming that Flock Safety’s licence plate readers shared information to more than 1.6 out-of-state agencies during a seven-month period, and Los Altos’s readers reportedly shared information to out-of-state agencies more than a million times. No further details have been provided about the case.
“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, per KTVU.
“They have to be beholden to the laws they claim they are trying to enforce, just like everybody else,” Berger added.
Flock released a statement, stating the company “takes privacy, legal compliance, and data security extremely seriously,” adding, “Flock intends to vigorously defend itself against the asserted claims and allegations.”
NBC Bay Area reports that an audit by the El Cerrito Police Department verified that Flock allowed federal agencies to access the department’s data from its cameras without its knowledge, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the GSA Office of the Inspector General, when the cameras were first installed in June 2023 until the police department took administrative control of the system two months later.
As Contra Costa News reports, federal agencies gained access to the ECPD’s database two more times after safeguards had reportedly been installed. Between September and November 2023, the United States Postal Inspection searched ECPD’s database. Additionally, over two days in May 2025, the Loma Linda Healthcare System Veterans Affairs Police searched the database.
Per Contra Costa News, Flock reported that the company promptly fixed flaws in the department’s settings that allowed the agencies to access the database. Regarding the Loma Linda Healthcare Systems Veterans Affairs Police, Flock says the agency was incorrectly labeled as a state agency.
“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.
Per KTVU, the San Jose Police Department implemented safeguards, including requiring more documentation from outside agencies, limiting camera locations, and reducing data retention to 30 days instead of a year, per NBC Bay Area.
Additionally, as KTVU reported Wednesday, the Mountain View City Council voted unanimously to end the city's contract with Flock, and pressure is also mounting in the city of Richmond. As Axios reports, a federal agency accessed the Richmond Police Department's Flock cameras last year before the department blocked access to all federal agencies.
Per NBC Bay Area, Keith will provide further details about the report at El Cerrito’s city council meeting on March 10.
Image: Tony Webster/Wikimedia
Previously: Report: Flock Safety, Maker of SF’s License Plate Reader Cameras, Had Gobsmacking Security Flaw
