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Privacy, security and a possible data-center moratorium draw council attention
Summary
Public commenters and councilmembers raised concerns about Flock Safety license-plate readers and the broader data-center debate. A public commenter urged an independent security audit of Flock; Councilmember Abby Scott urged prompt council discussion of a moratorium or regulatory structure for data centers, possibly later in May.
Speakers during the May 11 meeting raised privacy and security concerns about the city's use of automatic license-plate readers supplied by a private vendor and urged the council to take further action on data-center policy.
Cole Zimmerman, a local resident, asked the council to re-examine Bloomington's contract with Flock Safety, the vendor that supplies automated license-plate–reading cameras. Zimmerman cited reported security incidents and public demonstrations that he said show vulnerabilities in the vendor's systems and urged the city to require an independent security audit before continuing to rely on the technology.
"Until Flock acknowledges these flaws and submits to an independent security audit, I don't believe we should be trusting Flock with our safety," Zimmerman said. He referenced reporting and security demonstrations (he cited 404 Media and a YouTube security professional) as the basis for his concerns.
The meeting also highlighted a recent public forum on data centers: the clerk read a long list of people who submitted written comments to that forum, and Councilmember Abby Scott said the council should not delay consideration of a moratorium or regulatory structure for data centers. Scott said she anticipated that discussion could occur "this month, possibly the last meeting of this month," and urged fellow councilmembers to share their views so the council can move forward.
The council did not take formal action on Flock Safety or data-center regulation at this meeting. Staff reported that there were many participants in earlier forums and that written comment had been collected; no staff recommendation or ordinance was presented during the May 11 session.
