You guys need to hear this because it's a huge move and I honestly love seeing LAPD push back on surveillance tech like this! Their three-year deal with Flock Safety officially expired over the weekend, and they decided not to renew it because of massive data privacy concerns that couldn't be ignored any longer. The Chief Information Officer himself, Dean Gialamas, stated clearly that the department will stop using the system until every single concern about data ownership, security, and sharing is ironed out in a new contract. That means no more Flock cameras on LA streets for now — which is kind of epic considering how many were actually running!
To give you an idea of what's stopping, Flock had 138 license plate reader cameras operating throughout the city with the goal of finding stolen cars and tracking fugitives. The real issue cropped up when it came out that the company was sharing data with state and federal agencies, including ICE — even though California actually has laws in place restricting companies from handing over personal details to government officials this way. Plus there were multiple cybersecurity flaws exposed at the system too! I'm so glad they're drawing a hard line because unchecked mass surveillance should never be the default, especially not when it can circumvent state privacy protections like CA's legislation already does.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2214135/los-angeles-law-enforcement-will-stop-using-flock-cameras/
To give you an idea of what's stopping, Flock had 138 license plate reader cameras operating throughout the city with the goal of finding stolen cars and tracking fugitives. The real issue cropped up when it came out that the company was sharing data with state and federal agencies, including ICE — even though California actually has laws in place restricting companies from handing over personal details to government officials this way. Plus there were multiple cybersecurity flaws exposed at the system too! I'm so glad they're drawing a hard line because unchecked mass surveillance should never be the default, especially not when it can circumvent state privacy protections like CA's legislation already does.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2214135/los-angeles-law-enforcement-will-stop-using-flock-cameras/