Sanders bill would bar federal use of Flock license readers

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) on Friday introduced the Ban Flock Act, aiming to cut the federal government out of the business of automatic license-plate readers (ALPRs) — cameras like Flock Safety’s that scan plates across the country. The bill would prohibit federal agencies from operating ALPR systems themselves or tapping into data collected by readers run by local police departments and private companies. Despite its name, the legislation doesn’t single out Flock Safety in its text — it covers any and all ALPR systems, nine-year-old Flock included.

The bill carves out two exceptions: toll collection, and any future use Congress separately approves, which would be capped at 48 hours of data retention. State and local governments that keep using the technology would pay a price too. Starting the first fiscal year after the law takes effect, non-compliant jurisdictions would lose grants from five federal departments, including the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Americans could sue the federal government over violations, and state attorneys general could enforce it. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) are co-sponsors. Like most bills, this one faces long odds of becoming law.

The target is the industry’s dominant player. Flock is the largest ALPR vendor in the U.S., according to Sanders, running more than 120,000 cameras whose data feeds a network that, per a company blog post in February, processes more than 20 billion vehicle reads every month. Venture backers currently value the company at north of $8 billion.

Flock has drawn escalating backlash from communities protesting its cameras, suspending their use, and canceling contracts, and the company has responded by tightening its own rules. In August, CEO Garrett Langley — who had previously said how police use the cameras was up to local agencies — announced a default data-retention period of seven days, down from 30. Flock also now requires customers to run an audit tool that locks officers out pending review whenever it flags an unusual search. The scrutiny follows high-profile misuse: a former Milwaukee officer pleaded guilty to misconduct after searching for his then-partner and her ex 179 times, logging the search reason as an investigation. During a recent podcast interview, investor Jason Calacanis suggested a “double-key” system requiring two people to approve a search, and Langley said the idea is “on the whiteboard.”

Why it matters

A federal ban would cut off Flock’s most powerful potential customer base and could set a national data-retention standard other surveillance vendors would have to match, even though the bill’s odds in Congress remain long.