Congressman Thomas Massie proposed legislation to eliminate federal funding for municipalities using Flock cameras, amidst growing privacy concerns.
Congressman Thomas Massie has introduced a bill aiming to cut federal funding for local governments and police agencies that use Flock cameras and similar automatic surveillance systems. He announced his intent to sponsor the legislation, stating, "I’ll soon be sponsoring a bill to withhold federal money from municipalities and police departments that deploy Flock (and other style) cameras to surveil law abiding citizens."
Flock Safety, established in 2017, specializes in internet-connected cameras designed to capture vehicle images, read license plates, and identify their characteristics without utilizing facial recognition technology. They typically retain data for 30 days unless local laws dictate otherwise.
Recently, various municipalities have been reevaluating their use of these cameras due to rising concerns about privacy and data management. The Los Angeles Police Department has ceased its partnership with Flock, citing issues regarding privacy and data sharing, while Monroe County in Indiana ended its contract prematurely. In Florida, Leon County has postponed funding for more cameras following resident concerns about data practices.
Critics of the surveillance technology argue it is often used beyond its intended purposes. The Institute for Justice reported numerous instances of law enforcement allegedly misusing the footage to track personal relationships. Furthermore, the Electronic Frontier Foundation highlighted incidents where police accessed license plate data during protests and investigations into sensitive cases.
Public discontent has also manifested in vandalism, with reports of surveillance cameras being damaged across multiple states as citizens express their dissatisfaction. Protester Carl Gann, 77, remarked, “It’s just another way to gather information and spy on us. I have a constitutional right to privacy.”
In light of the backlash, Flock's CEO Garrett Langley has since expressed regret for previous comments that labeled surveillance critics as a "terrorist organization," admitting that some criticisms of his company are indeed justified. Earlier in the summer, Bristol, England, had to disable its AI crime risk models for children due to significant inaccuracies.
