Progressives unveil legislation cracking down on Flock cameras

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) unveiled legislation Friday to ban federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs).

The bill, titled the Ban Flock Act , would both prohibit federal agencies from ALPR usages and pause federal grant funding to state and local governments with ALPR contracts. It would also allow Americans to sue the federal government for the use of ALPRs.

“Going to the doctor? Flock knows. Dropping your kid off at school? Flock is tracking you. Flock is always watching. We cannot allow America to become a surveillance state where a handful of AI oligarchs profit by giving the government the power to track our every movement,” Sanders said.

While there are various ALPR firms across the nation, Flock drew particular backlash this year for its network of more than 120,000 cameras across the country.

Flock’s plate readers not only record license plate numbers but also specific details about a car to create what the company calls a “ vehicle signature .” These details include the make, model and color of the car along with unique features like bumper stickers, decals and accessories.

While privacy concerns have long been raised over Flock’s technology, the company’s use of artificial intelligence and a series of recent news reports on law enforcement misusing Flock or other ALPRs sounded the alarm on Capitol Hill.

Other lawmakers are pursuing efforts to quell the concerns.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) unveiled a bill last month called the Flock-Off Act, which would block any attempt to purchase, install, maintain, operate or upgrade ALPRs and biometric surveillance cameras for municipalities and localities. While the bill title references Flock, it would not be the only company impacted.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) led the first congressional hearing last month on AI-powered surveillance camera manufacturers as part of an investigation into Flock .

Senators heard from lawyers, a sheriff, a cybersecurity engineer and a driver who was wrongfully accused of a crime as a result of the technology. Hawley pointed out he asked the CEO of Flock, along with Axon Enterprise, Motorola and Verkada to testify, though none attended.

Weeks earlier, Flock touted a series of policy changes in a letter to Hawley.

Flock’s chief legal officer, Dan Haley, said Flock does not believe “Americans’ privacy should depend on one vendor’s good judgement, its current leadership or its commercial incentives.”

The company did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment Friday.