4 Cities Vote to Remove Flock Plate Cameras

Our Take

Credit to Verified Privacy VPN for surfacing this: Woodburn didn't need an outside whistleblower or a lawsuit to find out its Flock cameras were being tapped by CBP and DHS — its own audit caught it. That's the nightmare scenario privacy advocates have been warning about for years finally showing up in a city's own paperwork, and it's exactly why local officials who wave off ALPR concerns as hypothetical need to start asking harder questions before they sign a Flock contract, not after.

What makes this story matter beyond Woodburn is the pattern. Four cities pulling cameras isn't a fluke, it's a signal that the 'it's just for local crime' pitch Flock sales reps give city councils doesn't survive contact with how these networks actually get used. Once plate data sits in a searchable, shareable system, federal agencies with very different missions than local police can and will come knocking, audit trail or not.

If your town has Flock cameras — or is about to — this is the kind of accountability you should be demanding now, not discovering later. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your streets, and hit take action for tools to push your city council on data-sharing agreements before they become another audit surprise.