![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/flock-1200x675.png\")
Graphic by Elisabeth Seidel \u201926 and Selma O\u2019Malley \u201926<\/p>\n Graphic by Elisabeth Seidel \u201926 and Selma O\u2019Malley \u201926<\/p>\n
Easton City Council denied a proposal 6-1 from a controversial security company to install a license-plate-monitoring camera on city property, following community backlash at a Feb. 11 meeting.<\/p>\n
Flock<\/a>, known for its automated license plate readers, also known as ALPRs,\u00a0sought permission to place a camera on a city-owned pole. According to City Council during the meeting, the Northampton County district attorney\u2019s office is partnering with the company and ultimately decides on how the software is used; the city can only decide on whether the company can use city property.<\/p>\n Several council members advocated for \u201cguardrails\u201d with the use of county Flock technology. Councilman Frank Pintabone said that beyond communication, there has not yet been movement between the district attorney\u2019s office and the city on the subject since last Wednesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cA \u2018no\u2019 vote is merely symbolic,\u201d councilwoman Julie Zando-Dennis said at the meeting. \u201cIt does not protect your privacy. What will protect your privacy are enforceable guardrails, and how the software is configured and how the data is handled.\u201d<\/p>\n Automated license plate readers<\/a> are cameras that monitor passing traffic for vehicle license plates, often mounted on light or traffic poles or on police cars, and have become an ordinary part<\/a> of law enforcement jurisdiction.<\/p>\n Popular home security company Ring recently ended a deal<\/a> with Flock after a controversial Super Bowl ad announcing the partnership. The company has faced accusations of data breaches<\/a> and collaboration<\/a> with Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a>, potentially violating state laws<\/a>, which it has<\/a> denied<\/a>. Easton is not a designated \u201cwelcoming city<\/a>,\u201d but previously approved a resolution<\/a> in the interest of immigrant protection.<\/p>\n Mayor Sal Panto Jr. was the only council member who voted in favor of the proposal, saying that Easton is \u201cthe safest city in the Lehigh Valley\u201d and he is \u201cvery cognizant of the concerns\u201d with the technology. He also agreed that the city should examine \u201cguardrails\u201d for the technology.<\/p>\n Council members and public commenters alike cited concerns with potential data breaches, data brokering and the targeting of immigrants and racial minorities.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce such a system is installed, the issue is no longer whether the current administration intends to use it responsibly,\u201d said resident Mark Rosenzweig, who spoke as a member of Lehigh Valley Democratic Socialists of America. \u201cThe issue is that the infrastructure exists. It creates a searchable historical record of movement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey claim they get rid of that data in 30 days<\/a>; I\u2019m just not comfortable enough to think that they would,\u201d councilman Ken Brown said in doubt of Flock.<\/p>\n Chief of Police Carl Scalzo defended the use of the technology during the meeting while acknowledging the potential for abuse and cybersecurity issues. License plate recognition has been used by the Easton Police Department since 2017, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy obligation here in the city is to keep everyone safe and the technology that\u2019s available to us is absolutely instrumental and necessary to do that,\u201d Scalzo said. \u201cWe use it appropriately, we get audited and we get checked to make sure that we are using it appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n The department currently uses PLATELOGIQ<\/a> for license plate reading, according to Scalzo. The city has offered residents a system to register their security cameras<\/a> for police use since 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Zando-Dennis cited recommendations from the American Civil Liberties Union<\/a> for city contracts with Flock, including mandating that neither law enforcement nor the company shares local data.<\/p>\n She also referenced strict policies in Illinois, which placed limits on how Flock data can be used<\/a> in the jurisdiction on reproductive healthcare rights and immigration status. Massachusetts, meanwhile, is considering banning the use of the technology<\/a> to monitor First Amendment activities and mandating a warrant and deletion of data after 14 days.<\/p>\n \u201cPennsylvania has no comparable protections,\u201d Zando-Dennis said. \u201cThat means it falls on us, local officials and residents, to push for comprehensive LPR safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n Pennsylvania state representatives have pushed for contrasting support<\/a> and limits<\/a> on sharing automated license plate reader data on party lines. Nearby, Allentown has partnered with Flock for license plate recognition and audio detection since 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFlock cameras are not welcome in the city unless the ACLU-recommended guardrails are implemented,\u201d Zando-Dennis said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Graphic by Elisabeth Seidel \u201926 and Selma O\u2019Malley \u201926 Easton City Council denied a proposal 6-1 from a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-120773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}