San Diego council weighs ending Flock contract after 280 cities cancel

More than 280 municipalities across the United States have terminated their agreements with Flock, a decision driven largely by concerns over unauthorized data sharing. This national trend is now influencing the San Diego City Council as it debates whether to end its own contract with the vendor.

The push to cancel the deal gained traction following a series of public comments urging the city to act. Beth Givens, a resident of Linda Vista, wrote to the council to outline specific risks associated with the technology. She argued that automatic license plate readers have led to wrongful arrests, including at least one instance in San Diego. In other jurisdictions, individuals wrongly detained have won lawsuits with payouts reaching $1 million, a financial burden Givens described as unaffordable for the city.

The council is also weighing the potential for misuse by local law enforcement. While no specific Flock-related stalking incidents have been reported in San Diego, Givens noted that technology-enabled tracking of ex-partners is not new to police departments. She pointed to a history of such practices dating back several decades to illustrate the risk profile.

Data privacy remains a central point of contention. Givens stated that despite existing safeguards, Flock data has been shared with outside agencies across the country. An early data breach in San Diego demonstrated that these guardrails are not foolproof. The watchdog group DeFlock reported that the majority of national cancellations stemmed from these unauthorized sharing practices.

Critics of the system describe it as warrantless mass surveillance that is prone to error. The council members now hold the authority to decide if San Diego will join the 280 other cities that have already severed ties with the company.