While many Bay Area agencies have said that they do not participate in the \u201cNational Lookup,\u201d and instead share their data on a one-to-one basis with neighboring departments, some have alleged that the wider sharing setting was reactivated by Flock without their knowledge, allowing out-of-state agencies to access their information.<\/p>\n
Flock spokesperson Trevor Chandler told the council at Thursday\u2019s meeting that the company has made it possible for cities to opt out of data sharing and \u201ccould have communicated the compliance features better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take full responsibility for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Public officials and activists say the data collected by Flock\u2019s systems could be used against immigrants and women seeking reproductive care, as the Trump administration moves to expand deportations and limit abortion access.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur data not only could be, but has been accessed time and time again and used by federal agencies in ways that have undermined other commitments elsewhere, and could and would undermine Berkeley Sanctuary City commitments here,\u201d Tregub said. \u201cThere is a real anxiety among our immigrant residents. And safety that does not include our immigrant community is not true public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2025, Flock began a pilot program with the U.S. Border Patrol that allowed the agency to search its \u201cNational Lookup\u201d database without alerting affected jurisdictions, according to the memo from Berkeley\u2019s city attorney. Berkeley \u2014 and the state of California \u2014 have sanctuary policy protections that prevent local law enforcement from aiding in federal immigration enforcement operations.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_007-KQED.jpg\")
Protesters gather outside the Berkeley Unified School District boardroom before a Berkeley City Council meeting on Berkeley\u2019s proposed contract expansion with surveillance company Flock Safety in Berkeley on May 7, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez\/KQED)<\/p>\n
Allowing Border Patrol to access California agencies\u2019 data, the city attorney said, \u201craises concerns among civil liberty groups that Flock is either intentionally violating or recklessly disregarding local sanctuary policies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Data from departments that aren\u2019t opted in to the National Lookup could also be at risk if it is shared with other local jurisdictions that then share the information nationally themselves.<\/p>\n
An investigation by CalMatters<\/a> last summer revealed that multiple law enforcement departments in Southern California had carried out searches of data from other agencies in the state on behalf of ICE and Customs and Border Protection.<\/p>\n In the fall, California Attorney General Rob Bonta also sued the city of El Cajon, alleging it had shared data with more than 100 agencies, including in Texas, Florida and Georgia \u2014 all states with stricter limitations on abortion access. The city\u2019s data<\/a> was used in immigration-related searches more than 500 times last year, according to KPBS.<\/p>\n Federal agencies have accessed data from Flock cameras in Oakland, and the city of Richmond earlier this year deactivated its own camera network after discovering that federal officials could search its database.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the city can map who attends a place of worship or who seeks immigration help, people fear the worst,\u201d said Musa Tariq, the policy coordinator for the Bay Area\u2019s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. \u201cThey fear that by simply showing up to pray, by seeking legal help, or by standing up for justice, that they or their kids will be violently kidnapped or worse.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/050726BERKELEY-FLOCK-RALLY_GH_023-KQED.jpg\")
Organizers speak during a rally opposing Berkeley\u2019s proposed contract expansion with surveillance company Flock Safety outside the Berkeley Unified School District boardroom in Berkeley on May 7, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez\/KQED)<\/p>\n