Opinion: Flock can't be trusted not to share Berkeley's surveillance camera data with Trump and ICE

"On Tuesday night, Berkeley City Council will vote on a contract with Flock Safety to operate fixed surveillance cameras throughout Berkeley. But given reports in the past month on Flock's illegal cooperation with ICE and the Trump administration, such a contract will put the Berkeley community in grave danger. The council must uphold our sanctuary city commitments and vote no on a new contract with Flock."

"In the past few weeks, it has been discovered that Flock Safety has been violating its contracts with other municipalities by sharing their data with the federal government. For example, despite Illinois' sanctuary state status, Flock still illegally shared their data with the federal government, data that was used to target immigrants, people having abortions, and others. Flock also recently admitted CPB has had access to 80,000 Flock AI cameras, despite their previous denials."

"Clearly, there are alternatives to Flock that can keep our community safe without risking our most vulnerable residents by putting it in the hands of a company that lied about breaking local and state laws. We write as experts on how to best keep our immigrant community safe. We represent five Berkeley-based organizations that have worked together for years to defend immigrant rights and ensure access to legal services, together forming The Berkeley Immigration Collaborative (BIC)."

Berkeley City Council will vote on a contract with Flock Safety to operate fixed surveillance cameras throughout Berkeley. Recent reports show Flock illegally shared municipal camera data with federal agencies, violating contracts and enabling targeting of immigrants and people seeking abortions. Flock admitted CPB had access to 80,000 Flock AI cameras despite earlier denials. Flock claims to have paused data-sharing programs, but prior dishonesty and lack of binding assurances leave open the risk of resumed sharing under federal pressure. Multiple cities have paused or ended Flock contracts; Berkeley should reject Flock and adopt alternatives that protect residents and sanctuary commitments.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org