Lawmakers Introducing Flock Bills Left And Right: What Would Each Do?
Lawmakers have introduced several bills to restrict Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers (ALPRs).
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle opposed Flock cameras and introduced legislation to restrict them, although no one has introduced a bill as of Thursday that would completely ban them. All bills introduced thus far would place restrictions on using ALPRs at the federal and local level, and some lawmakers have floated the idea of outright banning these technologies.
Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett introduced the “Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act” in July, which would ban federal agencies from using automated surveillance. If passed, no agency would be permitted to “purchase, deploy, operate, access, or contract any automated surveillance system.”
Mike Fox, a legal fellow with the CATO Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the bill likely would not pass because congressional Republicans would face pressure from federal law enforcement agencies. He commended Burchett for bringing forth the bill, stating it would curtail the government’s ability to surveil the public.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service and other agencies accessed or used ALPR systems, which included commercial networks such as Flock. The agencies used facial recognition technology, AI-enhanced analytics, drones, biometric systems and camera networks.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from December 2024 revealed that several agencies did not apply appropriate civil rights and privacy safeguards when handling citizens’ personal data.
“I haven’t seen any elected members of Congress come out in support of Flock cameras,” Fox told the DCNF. “But who has really come out in support of Flock cameras are other law enforcement agencies, and I would expect if Congressman Burchett’s bill moves forward, which I have a feeling it won’t, you’re going to get the Office of Legislative Affairs at [the Department of Justice] and the Department of Homeland Security, [who] are probably gonna be hugely opposed because this bill dramatically limits the ability of them to surveil the public, which is precisely why it’s such a good bill.”
While Burchett’s bill would place restrictions on federal agencies, Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie announced plans to slash federal funding for cities and police departments using Flock cameras in an upcoming bill.
“I’ll soon be introducing a bill to withhold all federal funding for cameras used to track American citizens,” Massie said on Aug. 7
In April, Massie introduced a separate bill with Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert called the Surveillance Accountability Act to require federal and local agencies to obtain a warrant before using ALPRs to track citizens. The bill would prohibit warrantless facial recognition scanning by federal and local law enforcement agencies in public areas and restrict the use of ALPRs, including Flock cameras.
The legislation would also allow private citizens to sue government employees for Fourth Amendment rights violations.
Republicans Reps. Keith Self of Texas, Eli Crane of Arizona and Andrew Clyde of Georgia introduced the Protecting Rights in Video and Equipment Acquired Discovery (PRIVACY) Act in July to require federal law enforcement to obtain warrants before accessing or querying data from state and local surveillance systems, like ALPRs, and would restrict the use of federal funds to purchase or install them.
The bill would limit law enforcement’s retention of data under a warrant to 30 days, unless the information could be used as evidence in a prosecution.
Self’s bill would only place restrictions on federal agencies and does not restrict what cities and local police can do with their own cameras. Massie and Boebert’s legislation applies to federal and local government.
No bills have been introduced thus far to outright ban these cameras, though Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said they planned to introduce these bans. It is unknown when the bills would be introduced.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/27/flock-safety-congress-bills/