Flocks controversial cameras were removed from this Californian city over privacy concerns but Flock reinstalled them anyway

Date:
Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:19:33 +0000

Description:
Grass Valley authorities removed Flock cameras from their city, but later found that Flock had reinstalled them.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Grass Valley police ended its contract with Flock and removed its cameras They later found that Flock had reinstalled the devices This was allegedly due to one of Flocks automated systems Flock is not exactly the most popular company in the world right now, with its automated license plate recognition (ALPR) devices attracting protests , vandalism and canceled contracts with cities across the US. And
its managed to invite even more negative headlines thanks to its reaction after one city had had enough of its cameras.

According to Fox40 , the police force of Grass Valley, California, decided to end its contract with Flock and remove all of the companys cameras in mid-August. Yet the authorities have since discovered that Flock took it upon itself to reinstall many of the cameras in the following weeks. Grass Valley Police Chief Alexander Gammelgard had previously written a public letter to the towns community explaining that the forces contract with Flock had been canceled due to data privacy concerns, claiming that Hundreds of thousands of California agency queries were being performed against our data. Latest
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Despite the polices actions, the force subsequently found that Flock had reinstalled and serviced some of the devices without permission from the city or the police force.

For its part, Flock told Fox40 that it reinstated the cameras because Grass Valley authorities had removed them before the cancelation process had been completed. This triggered Flocks automated maintenance system to create work orders and send repair crews to put the cameras back in place. But whatever the cause, its not a good look for Flock. You may like LAPD cites privacy concerns as it drops Flock surveillance cameras Flock CEO says 'we're not Big Brother' in the face of surveillance claims Both Florida and Texas are
cutting back on Flock camera coverage Switching to Axon (Image credit: Shutterstock) The Grass Valley controversy is not the only piece of bad news to have hit Flock recently. As pressure mounts on local governments to shelf the contentious cameras, they are apparently increasingly turning to rival products that might generate less negative news coverage.

One such beneficiary of Flocks woes is Axon, whose devices are allegedly
being deployed around the US. A report from 404 Media (via Newsweek ) notes that cities from California to New York State have opted for Axon products over those from Flock, with some stating that they made the move because Axon met their public safety requirements while also protecting user privacy. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

While that might help these authorities avoid some of the storm surrounding Flock, it evidently does not mean that they are moving away from ALPR technology altogether which itself has become a lightning rod for opposition , whether it involves Flock or not.

As the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has put it , Simply replacing Flock surveillance with another companys surveillance wont necessarily solve any of the privacy and other civil liberties problems posed by this mass surveillance technology. Time will tell what sort of reaction the switch to Axon will therefore create among members of the public. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tech/flocks-controversial-cameras-were-removed-from- this-californian-city-over-privacy-concerns-but-flock-reinstalled-them-anyway


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