SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff is questioning Flock Safety over reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is searching the company's automated license plate reader databases without a warrant. Schiff is also raising broader privacy concerns about the company's data-sharing practices.
In California, sharing ALPR data with ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection would be against the law.
California Senate Bill 34 — now 11 years old — outlaws local law enforcement agencies, including police departments and sheriff's departments, from sharing their ALPR data with out-of-state agencies or federal agencies.
Law enforcement agencies have not always followed that state law. It was happening enough that in 2023, State Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an advisory telling law enforcement to stop the practice.
Bonta filed a lawsuit last year against El Cajon Police Department, alleging the department repeatedly violated the law by sharing data with out-of-state and federal authorities. El Cajon PD said the lawsuit is over an interpretation of SB 34, has nothing to do with immigration enforcement, and would not comment further in an email statement.
San Diego Police Department accidentally opted into sharing their data when they first installed Flock cameras. SDPD said it is now locked down and they no longer share that data.
Senate Bill 1013, another ALPR law currently in the process, would extend current protections even further — though it has not yet passed.
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