**Growing Backlash Against Flock Safety’s License Plate Reader Cameras**
Flock Safety, the company behind the United States’ largest network of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), is facing mounting opposition from lawmakers, privacy advocates, and communities nationwide. As concerns about privacy violations, misidentification errors, and data security risks increase, momentum is building to remove these surveillance cameras from cities and towns across the country.
**Lawmakers Call for Federal Investigation**
In recent weeks, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) formally urged federal authorities to investigate Flock Safety. They allege that the company has been “negligently handling Americans’ personal data” by failing to employ adequate cybersecurity measures. Senator Wyden previously warned Flock CEO Garrett Langley that the company’s security failures make abuse of Flock cameras “inevitable” and risk exposing vast amounts of sensitive data in the event of a breach. Wyden has been explicit in his recommendation: local officials should remove Flock from their communities to protect residents from these dangers.
**Privacy, Policing, and Data Misuse**
While the risk of hacking and data breaches is a primary concern, many communities are also troubled by how law enforcement agencies use Flock’s sweeping databases. ALPRs, which capture and store the license plates of every passing vehicle, have enabled controversial police practices—such as a reported case in Texas, where over 80,000 scans were used to locate a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has also accessed Flock data in partnership with local police for immigration enforcement, raising alarms about mass surveillance and civil liberties.
The backlash is bipartisan and national in scope. Residents in at least seven states—including Arizona, Colorado, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia—have successfully campaigned to end Flock contracts. These local victories are inspiring more communities to organize against what they see as invasive and error-prone technology.
**Documented Errors and Wrongful Detentions**
A major criticism of ALPR systems is their propensity for errors—which can have grave consequences. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has tracked numerous cases where Flock cameras misread license plates, confusing similar letters or numbers, or even the issuing state. These mistakes have resulted in innocent people being wrongly accused of crimes, detained at gunpoint, and in some cases, arrested.
The problem is compounded by overreliance on the technology. For instance, Chrisanna Elser, a financial planner from Denver, was accused of petty theft after Flock data placed her car near the scene of a minor crime. Despite her insistence on her innocence, the investigating officer refused to review her evidence and pressured her to confess. Elser undertook her own investigation, gathering surveillance images and GPS data that proved she had never been near the crime scene. Eventually, the charges were dropped, but not before she