SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, December 30, news outlets reported the filing of a class-action lawsuit between retired San Francisco public school teacher Michael Moore against the San Francisco Police Department and the city of San Francisco. They noted it is the first for the city to be sued for its surveillance system.
Moore is suing for violation of the Fourth Amendment, tracking his daily activities without any probable cause. The lawsuit also states that California violated state law by sharing information with out-of-state and federal agencies. According to state law, it is prohibited from sharing license plate numbers with out-of-state and federal agencies (SB 34), but it was searched 19 times by immigration agencies.
Moore is seeking a court order to block San Francisco from using Flock cameras in the future and delete any recordings.
In March 2024, San Francisco Police Department began to install approximately 500 Flock Safety automated license plate readers (ALPR) cameras along major city roadways.
On Monday, September 8, 2025, out-of-state agencies began accessing San Francisco Police Department data, which resulted in out-of-state violations. From August 2024 to February 2025, out-of-state agencies and federal authorities, which include United States (U.S.) Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, could access San Francisco Police Department’s Flock data system during this period.
On Monday, December 29, 2025, the lawsuit was officially filed at the United States (U.S.) District Court for the Northern District of California.
