Senator Bernie Sanders is serious about banning the federal government from using Flock and other automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). Flock, a camera surveillance product, captures and processes license plates and related details about vehicles, often for use by law enforcement.
On Friday, the Vermont Democrat introduced The Ban Flock Act in Congress. The proposed law would prohibit the federal agencies from using ALPRs. State and local governments that use the technology would be blocked from receiving federal funding.
The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
“At a time of growing concern about the unchecked power of artificial intelligence, Flock is eviscerating the very notion of privacy by installing tens of thousands of cameras in communities across America without their consent,” Sanders said in a press release.
Sanders argued that Flock cameras can track people’s movements closely and gather data on when they visit the doctor or drop their kids off at school. “Flock is always watching,” Sanders said.
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Hackers who recently obtained a roadside Flock camera allegedly discovered that its camera’s logs contained about three weeks of activity during which it photographed over 50,000 vehicles and produced 1.6 million images.
The largest vendor of ALPRs in the U.S. is Flock, according to Sanders. It has installed more than 120,000 cameras nationwide that record 20 billion vehicles per month.
Sanders said Flock has provided federal immigration authorities with state data and that law enforcement officials have used Flock data to investigate activists who’ve supported Palestinian rights and “No Kings” demonstrations.
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.
In addition to a federal ban on ALPR use, The Ban Flock Act would allow Americans to sue the federal government when it violates their rights by using the technology.
Additional reporting by Chance Townsend.
