A top provider of AI-powered license plate readers, Flock, made its first political contributions in California this month. But the checks are already being rebuffed.
The controversial company gave the maximum amount of $11,800 each to the state Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, according to disclosures filed in recent days.
Representatives for both Democratic lawmakers told POLITICO they would be returning the money amid concerns that Flock’s technology poses privacy risks and that its data could be accessed by ICE investigators. Their fear, shared by privacy advocates, is that the Trump administration has tapped into license plate reader data to carry out its mass deportation agenda.
Flock — which operates a huge network of about 90,000 cameras nationwide — has been accused in a California class-action lawsuit and by some local police departments of sharing such data with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies in violation of state law. The possibility of a backdoor has triggered strong backlash among residents and prompted authorities in places like Mountain View to cancel their Flock contracts.
According to Rivas campaign strategist Elizabeth Ashford, his 2026 committee won’t be accepting any contributions from Flock. She added that the funds — which now show up as voided — were “not deposited and the original check is being mailed back to the company.”
“It was an oversight that the contribution was accepted. It will be returned,” said David Beltran, campaign strategist for Wicks.
Flock confirmed last summer that it briefly worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations through since-paused pilot programs.
It’s unclear if the company previously attempted to offer contributions to other California politicians that were returned. The $11,800 to Wicks is the only donation from Flock to a state campaign that appears in records from the California Secretary of State’s office since the company was founded in 2017.
Flock’s systems originally caught on for their promise in combating crime and have featured in several high-profile cases, such as helping locate the suspect in the December shooting at Brown University. In San Francisco, crypto billionaire Chris Larsen funded tech equipment upgrades at a police department center that uses hundreds of automated license plate readers and cameras from Flock.
Asked about the new political contributions and for comment on their rejection, Flock's Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley responded by highlighting its past public safety successes.
“Flock supports lawmakers and community groups who believe privacy and public safety go hand in hand,” Haley said in a statement. “We're proud of Flock's life-saving technology, which last month helped apprehend suspects in a Los Angeles drive-by shooting, a Berkeley home invasion, and a San Jose attempted bank robbery.”
The timing of Flock’s state contributions coincides with the return of multiple bills in the California Legislature that the company lobbied on last year.
The bills aim to tighten data-sharing rules for license plate camera records and geolocation data. One of them, Democratic state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes’ SB 274, would have required police departments and public agencies to delete most location data gathered by license plate readers after 60 days, unless needed for an active investigation. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill, arguing that it would impair missing persons and cold case investigations.
Flock spent $120,000 on its California influence operation over 2025 and brought on the Sacramento lobbying firm LaVigne Strategies.
Cervantes — who was recently named chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee — told POLITICO she’s planning to reintroduce a version of the bill this year as SB 1013.
“We need to ensure that there’s oversight and accountability,” Cervantes said. “Our immigrant communities are being targeted.”
Federal lawmakers are separately investigating Flock over a case where one of its tools was used in a search across state lines for a woman suspected of having an abortion.
At the local level, Flock continues to be a target of scrutiny.
Under mounting public pressure, San Jose’s city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to restrict where its devices can be installed and how long license plate data may be stored. Mayor Matt Mahan, a gubernatorial candidate with strong backing from Silicon Valley, has actively championed the expansion of ALPR technology for crime deterrence, personally installing the city’s 235th Flock camera and defending its approach at the council meeting.
The new San Jose limits stop short of some residents’ demand that the city cut ties with Flock, as Los Altos Hills and the broader Santa Clara County have joined Mountain View in doing.
California police have been prohibited since 2016 from sharing license plate reader data with out-of-state or federal agencies, under SB 34.
Still, state Department of Transportation records obtained by the digital rights group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, show that CPB and the Drug Enforcement Administration have applied for permits to install license plate readers along state highways. EFF and a coalition of more than two dozen organizations petitioned Newsom to revoke any permits, believing the practice has allowed the federal agencies to covertly skirt the data-sharing regulations.
Attorney General Rob Bonta has posted bulletins reminding law enforcement to follow the law as they handle license plate information collected by the automated devices, and last fall, he sued the city of El Cajon after media reports of police there sharing Flock data with out-of-state agencies. Flock communications chief Josh Thomas told POLITICO at the time the company would cooperate if Bonta’s office reached out and that it had introduced updates to promote compliance with California rules.
A version of this story first appeared in California Decoded, POLITICO’s morning newsletter for Pros about how the Golden State is shaping tech policy within its borders and beyond. Like this content? POLITICO Pro subscribers receive it daily. Learn more at www.politicopro.com.
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