Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., unveiled legislation on Oct. 2 that would broadly prohibit federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers and restrict federal funding tied to the technology.
The Ban Flock Act would prevent federal agencies and officials from acquiring, possessing, accessing, or using automatic license plate readers or data collected by them unless Congress explicitly authorizes the activity.
Any such authorization would have to specify permitted users and purposes and establish safeguards that include audit trails and data retention of no more than 48 hours.
“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 in an Oct. 2 press release.
The lawmakers focused their criticism on Flock Safety, which they described as the country’s largest vendor of automatic license plate readers. They said the company has more than 120,000 cameras nationwide that scan and record 20 billion vehicles each month and argued that the technology enables broad monitoring of Americans’ movements.
In a statement to MeriTalk, a Flock spokesperson said the company “strongly supports legislation establishing guardrails governing license plate reader use.”
“We welcome these conversations in Congress because we believe public safety technologies are powerful tools best used in concert with strong policy, accountability and oversight mechanisms,” they said.
The legislation would also impose conditions on federal financial assistance to state and local governments. Beginning with the first fiscal year after enactment, funding administered by the Justice Department, Transportation Department, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Homeland Security could not flow to a state or local government unless it maintains a law or binding policy restricting license plate reader use to at least the federal standard established by the bill.
Separately, the bill would prohibit the use of federal funds to purchase, lease, install, operate, maintain, or upgrade automatic license plate readers. It would also bar federal funding for purchasing, accessing, searching, retaining, analyzing, or disclosing data collected through the systems, including through contracts and data-sharing agreements.
The proposal includes an exception for toll collection. However, it would generally limit tolling data to that purpose and prohibit its use for law enforcement, intelligence activities, or reconstructing an individual’s movements. The bill allows limited disclosures, including pursuant to a warrant or in an emergency involving imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.
The legislation would also allow individuals alleging a federal violation to sue the government and seek relief, while state attorneys general could bring civil actions on behalf of residents.
The bill would preserve the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s ability to test and research commercially used license plate reader technologies.