Monterey Park residents demand removal of Flock security cameras in community

Our Take

Credit to Courier California for capturing what happens when a community that already fought and won one surveillance-adjacent battle turns its attention to the next one. Monterey Park made headlines as the first U.S. city to ban data center development, and now residents like Steven Kung of No Data Center Monterey Park are telling their council the same scrutiny belongs on Flock's license plate readers. "Flock lies" is a blunt accusation, but it echoes a pattern we've tracked for months: vendor marketing claims about crime reduction and data handling that don't hold up to public records requests or independent review.

What makes this clip worth watching isn't just the profanity-laced mic drop, it's the civic muscle memory on display. A city that organized once, learned how council meetings work, and built a coalition is applying that same playbook to ALPRs. That's exactly the kind of local pressure that actually moves the needle on these contracts, far more than op-eds or press releases. Flock's business model depends on cities not asking hard questions in public, on camera, with neighbors watching.

If you want to know whether Flock cameras are already watching your commute, check our camera map, and if Monterey Park's residents have you wondering how to organize your own city council testimony, our take-action guide walks through it step by step.