AOC, Bernie Sanders Introduce Bill To Ban Feds From Using Flock Cameras

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation Friday to effectively end the federal use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs).

The Ban Flock Act would prohibit the federal government from purchasing, using or possessing an ALPR, accessing its data or using federal funds to purchase ALPRs, but it does not outright ban the cameras, according to the bill’s text. It would block certain federal grant funding for state and local governments that use ALPRs or contract with ALPR companies, such as Flock Safety, although it does not outright prohibit local agencies from purchasing the technologies with local tax dollars.

State and local governments using ALPRs would no longer receive federal assistance from the Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Homeland Security, according to the bill.

The legislation would allow Americans to sue the federal government for violation of their rights through the use of ALPRs.

No lawmakers have introduced bills to ban the cameras altogether. Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said in July she planned to introduce a bill to ban the cameras, although she has yet to introduce the bill.

A federal official who used an ALPR would be subject to retraining, suspension, termination or another penalty deemed appropriate, according to the bill.

The legislation makes an exception for ALPRs that are only used to enforce payment of a toll.

“Across the country, Big Tech companies like Flock Safety have built a mass surveillance system to harvest Americans’ private and personal data without their consent. AI-powered cameras are keeping track of our every move and weaponizing this data against working people to make record profits. The widespread integration of this technology into American society is unconscionable,” Ocasio-Cortez said, according to her office’s press release. “I am proud to introduce the Ban Flock Act with Senator Sanders to enforce our constitutional right to privacy and protect Americans from both corporate and government surveillance.”

“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. “Going to the doctor? Flock knows. Dropping your kid off at school? Flock is tracking you. Flock is always watching. We cannot allow America to become a surveillance state where a handful of AI oligarchs profit by giving the government the power to track our every movement.”