Dayton, Minnesota, says Flock reinstalled two AI license plate cameras after city ordered a halt
The city has told police to remove the cameras, and it is not yet clear whether the order was ignored or never reached the installation crew.
Flock, the maker of AI-powered license plate cameras, is accused of reinstalling two cameras in Dayton, Minnesota, even though the city had told it not to. According to the city's Facebook post of September 29, police received a maintenance work order on September 17 and the city replied the next day that the program was on hold and no work orders should be carried out. Dayton's council had voted on August 25 to suspend the automatic license plate reader program and its Flock cameras over privacy concerns, after the cameras had been vandalised and taken down on August 20. The city says the police were told to remove the reinstalled cameras, and it is not yet clear whether Flock ignored the instruction or whether it never reached the crew doing the installation.
Why it matters
For residents of Dayton, the dispute shows that a city council vote to suspend an automatic license plate reader program does not by itself stop cameras from being put back up. The city's account leaves open whether the vendor disregarded the instruction or the instruction never reached those doing the work, and that gap is what the city must now resolve. Other towns weighing similar programs will see that a suspension depends on the contractor acting on it.
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