A bipartisan pair of senators are pressing the head of Department of Justice to provide guidance to state and local law enforcement agencies to prevent the misuse of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) as backlash against the technology grows across the country.
In a letter sent Monday, Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) urged Attorney General Todd Blanche, urging him to issue the guidance and disclose details about any DOJ use of ALPRs.
An investigation by The Washington Post found that more than 50 officers had been accused, charged with or convicted of misusing Flock or other license plate readers to spy on exes or romantic interests.
The lawmakers’ letter was sent just two days before the Senate’s Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hosts a hearing on Flock’s “nationwide AI surveillance network.”
The CEOs of major surveillance technology companies, including Flock Safety, did not attend a Senate hearing called by Sen. Josh Hawley to examine the proliferation of their products, which have come under scrutiny for potential breaches of privacy.
Flock's network of privately owned and operated cameras and its nationwide database have drawn bipartisan concern over the past several months. Beyond mass surveillance concerns, critics have pointed to incidents of false positives, cooperation with federal agents on immigration enforcement, and even tracking women seeking abortions across state lines.
Whitney also cited a California department that found that most of its stolen-vehicle and felony alerts over two years were due to misread plates. Later in the hearing, Whitney described what he called "side door" access to Flock's database, in which federal agents ask local officers to run searches that state law would not allow federal agencies to run directly.
Witnesses at the hearing warned against treating Flock as the only target. Jordan said Axon and Motorola are rolling out the same kinds of features Flock is being criticized for.
Abbott withdrew state funds for the cameras in August as The Texas Tribune prepared to publish an investigation exploring how a small state agency had directed at least $30 million to help cities, counties and law enforcement agencies pay for more than 3,200 Flock cameras across Texas.
That support from the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority had been set to continue into 2027, with $10.9 million earmarked to help local agencies afford subscriptions for more than 2,600 Flock cameras, a Tribune review of approved grants found.
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