J.R. Eppler says San Francisco should drop Flock

Candidate for San Francisco Board of Supervisors, District 10

“Public safety does not require blind trust in a private surveillance company. Flock failed the test, and San Francisco should move on.”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)We asked candidates if San Francisco should keep Flock surveillanceCandidate responses under support, opposition, and no position

Source and context

Interview

We asked candidates if San Francisco should keep Flock surveillance (opens in a new tab)Candidate responses under support, opposition, and no position

About this source

The San Francisco Standard asked local candidates whether the city should renew its Flock contract and recorded their differing answers.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Before the quotation

The San Francisco Standard asked candidates whether the city should renew its Flock contract in February, after the police department disclosed that out-of-state and federal agencies had accessed city Flock data hundreds of times in violation of California law. Eppler cited those improper searches and said a surveillance vendor "does not get the benefit of the doubt after safeguards fail on that scale."

After the quotation

Eppler said that if San Francisco keeps using license-plate readers, it should pick a new vendor through a competitive process that requires shorter retention, stronger barriers against unauthorized access and penalties for misuse.

How this statement is classified

Mixed or conditional

Case context: Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?

The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.

Why this label?

The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Eppler said Flock failed and San Francisco should move on from it, but also said that if the city keeps license-plate readers it should choose a new vendor with shorter retention and penalties for misuse. Opposing one vendor while allowing the systems with limits fits Mixed or conditional.

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People and groups discussed
Flock Safety
A close view of a green Flock Safety automated license-plate reader mounted beside a street.
Credit: Bruxton

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