Ban Warrantless License Plate Surveillance by Flock Safety and Similar Companies

Pass legislation requiring warrants before any automated license plate reader data — collected by Flock Safety or any similar company — can be accessed, retained, or shared. Flock's cameras scan license plates billions of times each month across 6,000 communities, tracking the movements of ordinary people who have done nothing wrong and are under no suspicion. That is mass surveillance, whatever the company chooses to call it. The abuses are already documented. Officers have used Flock's system to stalk individuals, costing people their jobs. ICE can access camera feeds through legal loopholes to pursue immigrants. Cops have used Flock's search tools to identify people by tattoos and clothing, not just vehicles. More than 80 cities, including Austin and Denver, have already walked away from Flock contracts because communities don't want this. A Texas lawmaker has introduced a warrant requirement bill — that's the floor, not the ceiling. No corporation should be able to build a nationwide location-tracking network and sell access to it without any judicial oversight. Shut this down.