Senate panel holds hearing on Flock's AI surveillance network
Lawmakers grill Flock Safety and rival CEOs over privacy risks from nationwide license plate reader cameras.
What to know
- Flock Safety operates over 120,000 AI-powered license plate reader cameras nationwide, pooling data into a searchable national database that law enforcement agencies can access, raising constitutional privacy concerns.
- Reports of misuse including police officers using Flock data to stalk individuals and ex-partners fueled bipartisan concern; a Data for Progress poll found 40-41% unfavorable view across party lines.
- Sen. Hawley's investigation focuses on who accesses the data and how it is used, arguing the system bypasses traditional warrant requirements for surveillance.
- The hearing occurred as Flock introduced new safeguards for database searches, and amid state-level action—Florida and Texas governors ordered removal or cessation of spending on Flock cameras.
“They collect information, not the FBI, where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, basically publicly available information. Where the FBI partners with these individuals is on a case-by-case basis and not a rolling-access basis.”
FBI Director Kash Patel · Roll Call ↗
Sen. Josh Hawley Senate Judiciary Subcommittee ChairGarrett Langley CEO of Flock SafetyFBI Director Kash Patel FBI leadership
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideosposts
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Flock introduces new safeguards ahead of Senate hearing
Flock Safety announced it had tightened rules for searching its database of billions of license-plate scans just as the Senate hearing began, introducing new guardrails for accessing the network's data.
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Flock surveillance cameras raise constitutional questions, bipartisan US senators say washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/09/23/r... Flock surveillance cameras rai...
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# Flock # ai # cameras # surveillance https:// thehill.com/policy/technology/ 6107305-senate-ai-surveillance-hearing-flock/
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Senate subcommittee holds hearing on Flock's surveillance network
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism convened a hearing titled 'Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network' to examine privacy implications of the company's license plate reader cameras and data practices.
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5 outlets first by Washington Examiner, 9h ago · also Mashable, NewsNation, Roll Call, Nextgov/FCW · read ↗
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first by Denver Post, 2d ago · also Mercury News, Orlando Sentinel, Roll Call
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Hawley invites Flock and three rival CEOs to testify
Sen. Hawley invited the CEOs of Flock Safety, Axon Enterprise, Motorola Solutions, and Verkada to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, scheduled for September 23. Verkada indicated its CEO could not attend but would provide information.
“Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church. I'm investigating these companies to determine WHO has access to hundreds of millions of Americans' data - and what they're doing with it.”
— Sen. Josh Hawley -
2 outlets first by UPI, 5d ago · also The Hill · read ↗
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background
Hawley announces investigation into Flock's data collection — Sen. Josh Hawley announced an investigation into Flock Safety's collection, retention, and dissemination of data from its AI surveillance cameras, citing concerns that the cameras pool data into a national database accessible to customers rather than serving discrete local investigations.
