CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — The Wilder City Council approved an amendment to its Flock Safety agreement Tuesday night after several residents voiced concerns about privacy, data collection and the future use of license plate reader technology.
The amendment addresses how data collected by Flock cameras in Wilder can be used for product improvement. The change prevents Wilder’s data from being used by Flock for technology training and development purposes.
During public comment, several residents urged the council not to approve the amendment and instead consider ending the contract altogether. Some argued the original Flock agreement was never approved by the full council and raised concerns about potential Fourth Amendment violations, liability issues and how resident information could be used.
“I don’t want to be anybody’s product,” one resident told the council, questioning where collected information goes and who controls it.
Other residents questioned the placement of cameras near public spaces, including the Wilder Community park, and raised concerns about children being captured by surveillance technology.
A representative from Flock Safety addressed the council, saying the company’s machine-learning process does not use identifiable customer data from Wilder. The representative said the amendment allows cities to opt out of machine-learning data use and clarified that Flock cameras are designed to capture vehicle information, such as license plates, not personally identifying information.
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The company also pushed back on claims that the technology violates the Fourth Amendment, saying license plate readers have been upheld by courts as a lawful tool used on public roads.
After discussion, the council voted to approve the amendment. The decision keeps the Flock Safety cameras in place while limiting the use of Wilder’s data for product improvement purposes.
The council did not vote to terminate the Flock Safety contract.
CITY OF WILDER AMMENDMENT
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