License plate readers face growing scrutiny over privacy and data sharing
The short version: LAPD's Flock contract lapsed, but that's not a privacy win — the department just kept scanning plates through other vendors instead.
Our Take
NBCLA's report is a useful reminder that killing one contract doesn't kill the surveillance. LAPD let its Flock Safety agreement expire at the end of July, and if you stopped reading there you might think Los Angeles took a step back from automated plate tracking. It didn't. The department is still running other ALPR systems, which means the mass collection of where Angelenos drive, park, and live their daily lives continues uninterrupted — just under a different vendor's logo.
This is the shell game that keeps showing up in ALPR coverage nationwide: cities and departments treat these systems as interchangeable commodities, swapping providers without ever asking the harder question of whether blanket plate surveillance should exist in this form at all. Data-sharing agreements, retention windows, and who else gets access to that database rarely get the same scrutiny as the initial vendor pitch. A contract lapsing should be a moment for public accountability, not a quiet vendor transition.
Credit to NBCLA for keeping a spotlight on this instead of letting it drop once the Flock name disappeared from the news cycle. If you want to see how dense this coverage is in your own neighborhood, check our camera map, and if you'd rather push back on it, our take-action page has concrete steps for pressing local officials on ALPR contracts, old and new.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of NBCLA, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.