
Mountain View found federal agencies had searched its camera data, through a setting Flock switched on itself
An internal audit in Mountain View found that between August and November 2024, federal agencies had queried data from a city camera at San Antonio Road and Charleston Road. The list the city published is specific: ATF offices in Kentucky and Tennessee, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, the GSA Office of Inspector General, Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada, and an Ohio air force base. California agencies had searched it too, also unapproved. The mechanism matters more than the list. The city says a nationwide search setting had been enabled by Flock without the police department's permission or knowledge. The police chief disabled every camera in February 2026 and the council voted later that month to get rid of them. This is the clearest documented case of the question that has decided more contracts than any other: not whether your police can be trusted with the data, but who else can already see it.
From the reporting
- Queries ran August to November 2024 and were found by the city's own audit, not disclosed to it.
- Named federal queriers: ATF Kentucky and Tennessee, Langley AFB, GSA Office of Inspector General, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and an Ohio air force base.
- California agencies also searched the data without police department approval.
- The city attributes the access to a nationwide search setting turned on by Flock without the department's permission or knowledge.
- Cameras disabled by the police chief in February 2026; council voted to remove them on 24 February.
- Added to this desk in August 2026. It is older than most entries here and belongs on it anyway.
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