The Woodburn City Council has temporarily halted the use of the Flock Safety camera system following resident concerns raised during a recent council meeting. According to KPTV, the city will suspend the license plate–reading cameras for at least 60 days while a full review is conducted.
At the meeting, some citizens stated that “Flock security cameras that are present in Woodburn contribute to the terrorizing of our community,” calling for the program to end, as reported by KATU. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office also turned off its Flock cameras, citing a court ruling that could allow broader public access to footage beyond its intended law enforcement use.
Woodburn Mayor Frank Lonergan said the city aims to maintain safety while acknowledging community concerns, according to the Statesman Journal. The Woodburn Flock transparency portal states that collected data is used only for law enforcement purposes and is not sold to third parties.
The pause comes amid national scrutiny of Flock Safety’s data protection practices. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois have questioned the company’s cybersecurity measures, noting inconsistent use of multi-factor authentication and potential exposure of user data. They have called for a federal investigation.
Flock Safety’s Chief Legal Officer, Dan Haley, told KATU that the data issues raised by Senator Wyden were related to client data management rather than vulnerabilities in Flock’s system. Haley said the company provides multi-factor authentication but allows clients to decide whether to enable it. The city will determine next steps after completing its 60-day review.
