Massie and Burlison unveil Flock-Off Act to restrict surveillance camera funding

Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Eric Burlison introduced the bipartisan Flock-Off Act, which would prohibit federal funds from being used to purchase, install, maintain, operate or upgrade automated license-plate readers and biometric surveillance cameras. The bill would also cover related contracts, subscriptions and data-sharing agreements, and could suspend additional federal funding until violators repay previously obligated money. It would not ban the technology outright, and includes exceptions for certain border-security operations and toll collection. The legislation reflects growing bipartisan concern over Flock Safety’s expanding network of more than 120,000 cameras and the extensive vehicle-location data it collects, though Flock argues that cutting off federal funding could harm public safety.