City of San Jose — Flock Safety ALPR 30-Day Retention and Access Safeguards (2026)
San Jose, CA · City of San Jose ALPR Use Policy Amendment (City Council unanimous vote, March 10, 2026)
On March 10, 2026, San Jose City Council voted unanimously to tighten safeguards on the city's network of 474 Flock Safety license-plate-reader cameras. The new rules cut the data retention period from one year to 30 days, restrict where cameras can be placed, and limit data-sharing with outside law enforcement agencies to documented criminal investigations. San Jose is the largest U.S. city to have adopted a Government AI Coalition framework, and this vote aligned its ALPR rules with its broader digital-privacy principles.
Technical detail
San Jose City Council unanimous vote (March 10, 2026): amended ALPR use policy for 474 Flock Safety cameras to: (1) reduce data retention from 365 days to 30 days for non-evidentiary footage; (2) restrict camera placement to avoid proximity to places of worship, medical facilities, and other sensitive locations; (3) tighten inter-agency data-sharing rules, limiting external requests to agencies with a documented criminal investigation nexus; (4) require quarterly public reports on query volume, purpose codes, and sharing requests. Policy aligned with San Jose's Privacy Risk Assessment framework (AI Reviews and Algorithm Register) and the state My Health My Data Act.
Who is protected: San Jose residents and drivers whose license plates are captured by city ALPR cameras
Who must comply: San Jose Police Department; San Jose Information Technology Department
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | San Jose, CA |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Status | In effect |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2026-03-10 |
| Enacted | 2026-03-10 |
| Citation | City of San Jose ALPR Use Policy Amendment (City Council unanimous vote, March 10, 2026) |
| Enforced by | San Jose Police Department; City Auditor; Privacy Advisory Commission |
| Topics | consumer data privacy · police and surveillance AI · AI disclosure and transparency |
| Last verified | 2026-07-06 |
| Official source | San Jose City Council — ALPR Policy Update (March 2026) | Digital Privacy / AI Reviews ↗ |
More AI rules in San Jose, CA
- San José AI Policy · In effect
- Santa Clara County CA Office of Education · In effect
- San Jose GenAI Guidelines · In effect
- San Jose AI Reviews Board · In effect
Related consumer data privacy rules elsewhere
- TAKE IT DOWN Act · In effect
- FCRA (AI in credit & background checks) · In effect
- COPPA + 2025 Rule (childrens data) · In effect
- TCPA (AI voice calls) · In effect
- DEFIANCE Act (deepfake-porn civil suits) · Proposed / pending
- CCPA/CPRA + ADMT Regulations · In effect
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