Sanders Proposes Bill to End Federal Use of Flock

Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Ban Flock Act on Friday, legislation that would prohibit federal agencies from operating automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) and from accessing data collected by readers deployed by municipal police departments and private businesses . While the bill is named after Flock Safety, its text applies to all ALPR systems without exception .

What the Bill Would Do

The Ban Flock Act, introduced by Sanders alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, contains three core provisions :

Prohibit federal use of ALPRs: Federal agencies and officials would be barred from acquiring or using automatic license plate readers, or from accessing "captured plate data" derived from readers operated by any other entity.

Cut off federal funding: States and localities that use ALPRs or contract with ALPR companies would lose access to certain federal grant funding. The legislation would allow Congress to later authorize specific uses with safeguards, including a 48-hour data deletion requirement.

Create a private right of action: Americans could sue the federal government for violations of their rights through the use of ALPRs, and state attorneys general would also have enforcement powers.

The legislation includes limited exceptions for highway toll collection .

The Political Context

Sanders framed the bill as a defense against the emergence of a surveillance state. "Going to the doctor? Flock knows. Dropping your kid off at school? Flock is tracking you. Flock is always watching," he said in a statement . In an interview, he compared Flock cameras to every American being forced to wear an ankle monitor, arguing that "once it's out there and widely used, it's going to be very hard to bring it back" .

The bill arrives amid a bipartisan backlash against ALPR technology. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, has launched a Senate investigation into Flock and held a hearing titled "Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network" . Other lawmakers have introduced competing measures, including the Stop Flock Abuse Act from Hawley and the Flock-Off Act from Rep. Thomas Massie .

Flock's Response

Flock Safety has said it supports "clear, sensible legislation governing how this technology is used." Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley wrote to Hawley that the company does not believe "Americans' privacy should depend on one vendor's good judgment, its current leadership, or its commercial incentives" .

The company has made several policy changes in response to criticism, including reducing default data retention from 30 days to seven days and requiring case codes before accessing data . However, critics note these changes can be overridden through settings like "Evidence Mode" .

The Broader Landscape

Flock operates more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states, logging what the company says is more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month . The company's cameras capture not just license plates but what it calls a "vehicle signature"—make, model, color, and unique features like bumper stickers and decals .

The legislation is unlikely to receive a vote in the current Republican-controlled Congress, but Sanders said he expects AI regulation to be a priority for Democrats if they retake the Senate in November .