SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ office recently discovered that U.S. Customs and Border Protection gained access to Illinois license plate camera data, in violation of the Trust Act.

In June, the Secretary of State’s office announced it would conduct a sample audit of Flock Safety data sharing of 12 local law enforcement agencies. Giannoulias’ office found that Flock Safety—which operates the largest automated license plate reader (ALPR) system in the nation—allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to access Illinois license plate cameras on Illinois roads and surveil drivers. Giannoulias ordered the company to shut off access to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"As a result of the audit late last week, we discovered that Flock did not have proper safeguards in place for data sharing," Giannoulias said. "This was compounded by the fact that company leadership was unaware of a pilot program with the US Customs and Border Patrol Protection Agency. This put them in direct violation of Illinois law."

Flock has since paused its pilot with CBP and other federal agencies, not only in Illinois but nationwide.

In a statement to WAND, a representative of Flock said the following:

"Firstly, all ongoing federal pilots, including the pilot with CBP, have been paused as of last week.
 
In order to work with federal law enforcement agencies while remaining committed to the values of the communities across the country we currently serve, Flock is engaged in an ongoing company-wide effort to develop new compliance tools and features, led by our new Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley. We will have more to share on a regular basis about these compliance and training efforts.
 
It's really important to note that the audits we are talking about are only possible because of the tools Flock has built in the pursuit of accountability and transparency. Every single search conducted in the Flock LPR system is preserved permanently in an audit report. This is not a legal requirement for Flock in most jurisdictions, nor is it something that all LPR vendors do. By making auditing the default, we are enabling oversight and accountability.
 
Another important note is that Flock does not own or control access to customer data. Agencies are in complete control of who can access their system, what sharing permissions (if any) they grant, and under what conditions they share that data. Cities can choose the data sharing relationships that are in compliance with their local laws and policies, and align with their community's values."

Giannoulias also called on local police departments to re-examine their agreements with Flock to ensure they do not violate the state’s Trust Act, which restricts local law enforcement in Illinois from collaborating with federal authorities—including ICE—on immigration enforcement without a court warrant.

"We will not tolerate any violations to our data sharing and privacy laws. Moving forward, we encourage local law enforcement to closely examine their relationship with Flock and ensure their use of this technology is compliant with the law," Giannoulias said.

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