Lawmakers Target Surveillance Tech Firm Flock With Proposed Federal Ban on License Plate Readers

Federal lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at restricting government deployment of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), taking direct aim at surveillance technology vendor Flock. Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the bill, titled The Ban Flock Act, alongside co-sponsors Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as reported by Mashable Tech .

If enacted, the measure would prohibit federal agencies from using ALPR technology and bar federal funding for state and local governments that deploy the systems. The proposal also creates a private right of action, allowing individuals to sue the federal government if its use of the tracking systems violates their rights.

In a statement released with the bill, Sanders warned against the unchecked expansion of artificial intelligence and camera networks, arguing that Flock's systems undermine privacy by recording vehicle movements across local communities without public consent. Sanders cited data identifying Flock as the largest ALPR vendor in the United States, with more than 120,000 cameras installed nationwide that capture roughly 20 billion vehicle sightings each month.

Sanders also alleged that Flock has provided state data to federal immigration authorities and that law enforcement agencies have utilized the platform to monitor activists attending demonstrations, including Palestinian rights and "No Kings" events.

Privacy advocates and lawmakers have raised bipartisan concerns regarding ALPR networks over recent months, pointing to potential false-positive identifications and the cross-jurisdictional tracking of individuals seeking healthcare, including abortion services. Additionally, recent reporting highlighted a roadside Flock camera obtained by hackers whose logs reportedly contained 1.6 million images and records on more than 50,000 vehicles captured over a three-week span.