After concerns over how Flock Safety might share data collected from cameras installed throughout the city of West Hollywood, the City Council continued a contract with the company on March 16, while directing staff to explore even stricter limitations on the use of footage captured.

The decision was divided, with the final vote 3-2. Councilwoman Chelsea Byers and Councilman John Erickson dissented. City staff will return to the City Council with language to approve what and how much information will be shared outside the city of West Hollywood.

In recent months, Flock has come under scrutiny as media reports, and at least one lawsuit, have alleged that it shared video footage with federal immigration agents. Some cities, including Culver City, have ended relationships with Flock. The company’s director of public affairs Trevor Chandler professed at the March 16 meeting that there had been “no data breach” or “hacking” of the Flock system and that the company had shifted policies to prevent data sharing out of state.

“First and foremost, Flock does not sell data, period,” Chandler said. “We are not a data broker … we do not sell data. It says specifically in our contract with you that the city of West Hollywood owns the data. So, I’m not sure what those [media] articles are referring to. There’s a lot of YouTubers, there’s a lot of TikToks, but the hard, fast rule is that Flock does not sell customer data.”

West Hollywood director of community safety Danny Rivas said that there was no evidence camera data had been used for “immigration enforcement purposes.”

“The city’s camera program provides measurable public safety benefits, and staff found no evidence of misuse related to immigration enforcement,” Rivas said. “However, staff believes additional safeguards will strengthen oversight and maintain community trust.”

Last year, 54 fixed cameras were approved for security purposes by the City Council, which are to be provided by Flock. A total of 24 are set to be placed by the end of the first quarter of 2026. Flock also provides traffic light cameras in West Hollywood, which capture license plates to aid law enforcement.

Even with the investigation by city staff, there was concern from the council about whether or not to trust Flock, especially from Byers.

“I don’t know how we recover from that sense of trust violated in this moment,” Byers said. “And we keep hearing that it’s going to work and they’re putting safeguards in place, but ultimately, it’s up to us as a city to put some of these safeguards in place, and we’re doing our best to understand it. And I can’t give the sense of trust back to the public that we’ve done our due diligence in this moment here.”

While Councilman Danny Hang had reservations, he said ending the progression of security cameras entirely would be a bad idea.

“We need to really safeguard and … give direction to build additional parameters to safeguard our data,” Hang said. “I mean, just as an example, our transgender community is being attacked right now, and if one of our transgender community members leaves The Abbey or something, and then gets assaulted, I would want those cameras to catch the perpetrator, you know … For me, it’s a public safety issue. We can’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”

Councilwoman Lauren Meister echoed Hang’s statement.

“We’ve had many conversations on the dais that have pitted ideology against practicality,” Meister said. “I’ve seen past council majority vote to defund police just to reverse it months later, after potential negative consequences, were going to bite them in the behind. I’m not willing to risk a city’s public safety for these reasons, especially when they are a bit naive. And as I’ve said it before. If you believe that cutting this program will end data getting out there, then you better shut off your cell phones and unplug your internet. While I’m against … obviously the current administration, and its very un-American use of ICE, I’m also not willing to throw out the baby with the bath water in this case, especially when we’re in a war where there is possible increase in terrorism in this country and in this state.”

Erickson expressed fears of the unknown quantities with the cameras’ use.

“I fear that what is to come is the use and abuse of every inch of surveillance that this administration will try to push on to our communities,” Erickson said.

Residents landed on all sides of the issue.

“I would hate for us to turn around and look a few years down and find that we backed ourselves into a corner working with a partner who does not share our city’s values,” said resident and Business License Commissioner Joshua Christian, who also noted the media reports against Flock.

“Thanks to [the] scrutiny and recent media attention, Flock is likely more willing than any other security firm to adopt the safeguards West Hollywood requires,” resident Michael Green said. “License plate recognition and security cameras are vital tools for our sheriffs in solving crimes, since our current system took years to establish.”

Staff has 90 days to return with the proposed additional safeguards that will place further restrictions on how Flock camera data is used.