Bipartisan Push Grows to Rein In AI-Powered License Plate Cameras

Two bills introduced in the US Congress this week reflect growing bipartisan concern over AI-powered automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras, used widely by police departments and companies such as Flock, Motorola and Axon. Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Stop Flock Abuse Act to add safeguards around these systems and protect constitutional rights, while Senators Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley, together with Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, proposed a broader bill that would block federal agencies from using ALPR cameras, withhold federal funding from states that deploy them, and allow people to sue the government if their rights are violated.

The backlash centres on how these networks link thousands of cameras together and use AI to make location data searchable, enabling tracking of individuals' daily movements over time. Lawmakers have warned this creates a de facto surveillance infrastructure, even though the technology is marketed for law enforcement purposes. The proposed legislation would apply to all ALPR vendors, not just Flock, amid reports that some police departments dropping Flock have simply switched to competing providers with similar capabilities.

While this debate is playing out at a policy level, it signals rising regulatory and reputational risk for any organisation using or partnering with surveillance technology vendors, including businesses that rely on such data for security purposes.