This City Is Forcing a Neighborhood HOA To Tear Down Its Flock Cameras—but Will This Be the New Norm?

A homeowners association in Brentwood, CA, is catching blowback after installing Flock cameras on public streets around the neighborhood. Not only are many homeowners up in arms, but the city has pulled approval of the system and is ordering their removal. Brentwood city officials reportedly said that the approval of these specific Flock cameras, which automatically capture license plate and other vehicle information, was issued by mistake. As ALPR systems like Flock expand their footprint across the country, homeowners and communities are grappling with whether they go too far and allow for unchecked private surveillance. How a permitting mistake unleashed a privacy fightThe cameras belong to the Shadow Lakes Homeowners Association, a golf-course community of nearly 800 homes. According to acting Brentwood City Manager Terrance Davis, the city issued approval under the mistaken understanding that the HOA's application was part of the Brentwood Police Department's existing Flock program, which runs 62 license plate readers across the city. The city has since moved to revoke the permit, which will require Flock to remove the cameras and restore the public right-of-way.According to l...