Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday introduced legislation aimed at banning federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs).
The measure, called the Ban Flock Act, would bar federal agencies from deploying ALPR technology and would suspend federal grant funding to state and local governments that maintain contracts for ALPR services. The bill targets commercial ALPR providers such as Flock Safety, which operates networks of cameras designed to capture license plate information across neighborhoods and public streets.
Supporters of the legislation argue that ALPR systems enable invasive mass surveillance and raise civil liberties and privacy concerns. They contend that allowing federal agencies to access or fund such systems creates risks of abuse and disparate impacts on communities of color.
Provisions in the Ban Flock Act include a prohibition on federal procurement and use of ALPR systems, as well as a pause on grant dollars to jurisdictions with active ALPR contracts until those contracts are terminated. The bill’s sponsors say the steps are necessary to halt the expansion of private and public surveillance networks that collect vehicle movement data.
Companies providing ALPR services have defended their products as tools for crime prevention and public safety, noting that law enforcement agencies frequently use automatic plate readers to investigate stolen vehicles and other offenses.
The introduction of the Ban Flock Act marks a continuation of progressive efforts in Congress to constrain the spread of surveillance technologies and to impose limits on how federal resources support state and local surveillance infrastructure.
Source: thehill.com
