30 Cities Cancel AI Surveillance Contracts in 2025

Communities across America are standing up for privacy, and they're winning.

Since January 2025, at least 30 cities have canceled their contracts with Flock Safety, an AI surveillance company that wanted to blanket the country in license plate reading cameras. Concerned citizens organized, showed up to city meetings, and convinced their leaders that constant tracking wasn't the answer to public safety.

Cities like Flagstaff, Arizona, Eugene, Oregon, and Santa Cruz, California have already sent the cameras packing. "In the end, it was just clear that this wasn't going to be a technology that was going to be well received," Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett explained after community members voiced their concerns.

The movement started with a simple idea: people deserve to know where surveillance cameras are watching them. Will Freeman, a Colorado organizer, created DeFlock.org, an open-source website that maps over 77,000 AI license plate readers across the United States. Now anyone can see exactly where these cameras are tracking their movements.

The concerns go beyond just feeling watched. These AI systems have led to wrongful arrests based on faulty data. Last October, Denver police accused a woman of stealing a $25 package simply because Flock showed her car drove near the area that day. GPS data later proved she never stopped, clearing her name but showing how easily the technology can get things wrong.

The Ripple Effect

What started as isolated protests has grown into a nationwide movement. Freeman says the momentum keeps building, with more cities expected to drop their surveillance contracts soon. Communities are discovering they have the power to reject technology that doesn't serve their values.

The success stories are inspiring other towns to take a closer look at their own surveillance systems. Local organizers are sharing strategies, showing up at city council meetings, and proving that ordinary people can push back against invasive technology when they work together.

These wins matter because they show democracy in action at the local level. Residents aren't just complaining online. They're researching the issues, organizing their neighbors, and showing elected officials that privacy matters more than the promise of perfect security.

Thirty cities have already chosen community trust over constant surveillance, and the movement is just getting started.