Topic
Laws & policy
Bills, ordinances, moratoriums, and regulation.
36 articles · page 1 of 2 · RSS
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Toledo council fails to reach votes needed to take up Flock camera resolution
13abc.com
Toledo City Council did not reach the nine votes required to take up a resolution under suspension urging the mayor to end the city's agreements with Flock Safety. The measure also called for removing or deactivating Flock equipment and deleting Flock data. Five council members voted against consideration, delaying the resolution for two weeks.
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South Windsor Pulls Plug On Flock Cameras After 6-3 Council Vote
hoodline.com
South Windsor, Connecticut's Town Council voted 6-3 to end its Flock Safety contract and remove eight license plate readers within 60 days, with collected data to be purged. No resident spoke in favor at the public hearing. The police chief said the system aided more than 100 arrests. Other Connecticut towns including Windsor, Killingworth and East Lyme have also paused or ended Flock use.
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Fayetteville City Council approves ban on automatic license plate readers
nwaonline.com
The Fayetteville, Arkansas city council voted 7-0 to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the purchase and use of automated license plate readers, a preemptive measure since the police department owns none. The police chief said he would prefer safeguards over a ban, citing security, accuracy and misuse problems. Researchers on a panel described federal "side door access" to shared ALPR databases and inconsistent retention and sharing rules across states.
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Sanders and AOC Target Flock Cameras With Bill to Ban Federal License Plate Tracking
hoodline.com
Senators Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Ban Flock Act, which would bar federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers, pause federal grants to jurisdictions with ALPR contracts, and allow lawsuits over federal use. The piece compiles competing camera counts, cancellations by dozens of localities, rival bills from Thomas Massie and Josh Hawley, and misuse cases including officers charged with tracking ex-partners.
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Oregon lawmakers could ban Flock, automated license plate reading cameras in 2027
klcc.org
Two Oregon legislators, a Portland Democrat and a Republican from Winston, plan to introduce a 2027 bill banning automated license plate readers, following Senate Bill 1516, which capped police retention at 30 days and let residents sue vendors. Law enforcement groups and a Flock spokesperson defend the technology, while the article notes misuse reports, a wrongful 13-day jailing in Florida, and actions in other states.
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Auburn’s Flock cameras will come down, city officials say
sunjournal.com
Auburn, Maine officials say Flock Safety is scheduling removal of license plate reader cameras about a month after the City Council terminated the contract, though no timeline exists and the city says it will remove the equipment itself if needed. Data access and sharing with other agencies ended with termination. A citizen initiative banning the technology drew 1,800 signatures and heads to a special election.
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SF Keeps Flock Cameras After 1.6M Illegal Queries: New Rules Weaker Than Company Standard
techtimes.com
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie imposed new rules on the city's roughly 500 Flock cameras, cutting vendor data retention from 12 months to 30 days, four times longer than Flock's own new seven-day default. The city kept its contract despite 1.6 million out-of-state queries of SFPD's database. Assemblymember Matt Haney plans a bill criminalizing ALPR misuse, which California law currently does not penalize.
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City Council passes temporary ordinance continuing Flock shutdown
newbedfordlight.org
The New Bedford City Council voted 8-3 for a temporary ordinance barring license plate reader use and blocking renewal of the city's Flock contract, which expires Nov. 12. Cameras have been off since August after two officers were accused of using them to track romantic partners. Police Chief Jason Thody sent an 11-page response backing audits, retention limits, and public reporting while opposing disclosure of camera locations.
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Columbus City Council will not introduce legislation on Flock cameras by end of September
wosu.org
Columbus City Council Member Emmanuel Remy said he will miss his stated goal of introducing legislation on Flock Safety license plate readers by the end of September, giving no new date. Mayor Andrew Ginther had paused use of the city's 65 Flock cameras after a police officer allegedly searched the same plate more than 200 times outside any investigation. Remy said the eventual package will cover surveillance technology broadly, and several council members oppose renewing the contract in December.
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Always Watching: Congress Begins Investigating Flock Cameras
dailysignal.com
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Josh Hawley examined the roughly 120,000 Flock Safety cameras operating nationwide, which capture over 20 billion images monthly. CEOs of Flock, Axon, Motorola Solutions, and Verkada declined to testify. A witness, Lindsey Isaacs, described being jailed 13 days after being wrongly accused of murder based on Flock footage. Senators discussed retention limits and a possible warrant requirement.
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Three takeaways from the Senate hearing on Flock's camera network
yahoo.com
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Flock Safety heard from five witnesses, including a Florida woman jailed for 13 days after a camera image linked her SUV to a fatal crash. Testimony described more than 240 catalogued ALPR misuse incidents, unaudited searches in Norfolk, exposed camera administrative interfaces, and federal agents obtaining data through local officers. No company representative testified; Flock's CEO sent a letter instead.
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Flock cameras draw bipartisan concerns at Senate hearing
rollcall.com
Senators from both parties raised concerns about AI-powered surveillance cameras and license plate readers at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing. The CEOs of Flock Safety, Axon, Motorola Solutions and Verkada declined to testify. Witnesses included a Florida woman who said she was wrongfully accused based on a camera image, a lawyer urging warrant requirements and retention limits, and an engineer questioning Flock's data security. Four House bills on the technology were noted.
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Monroe Kills Flock Safety Contract, Shuts Down All 23 License-Plate Cameras
hoodline.com
Monroe's city council voted unanimously to end its Flock Safety contract, switching off all 23 license-plate-reading cameras. Aggregated reporting says more than 50 agencies or communities have canceled, suspended, or rejected Flock contracts since the start of 2026, and Flock now recommends seven-day data retention plus tools to flag abusive searches. Ohio has no statewide ALPR retention or audit rules.
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Auburn voters to decide on automatic license plate reader ban next year
wgme.com
Auburn city councilors rejected immediate adoption of a citizen-led petition to ban automatic license plate readers, sending the measure to a special election within four to six months. The petition followed residents learning that police had installed Flock Safety cameras last summer; the units are currently switched off because of budget cuts. The city attorney said the ban's wording could block police access to other law enforcement databases.
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Texas freezes installation of Flock cameras along state roads
kvia.com
The Texas Department of Transportation stopped issuing permits for Flock cameras and other license plate readers along state roads at Gov. Greg Abbott's direction, a pause that does not remove existing devices, including more than 900 operated by the Department of Public Safety. The move followed Abbott's funding freeze after a Tribune investigation into $30 million directed toward over 3,200 cameras. Florida ordered removals in August.
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City Council discusses affordable housing overhaul, introduces license plate reader ban
idsnews.com
The Bloomington City Council introduced Ordinance 2026-22, which would bar the city and its agents from acquiring or using automated license plate reader technology and from sharing surveillance camera data with third parties. The measure follows a March 2026 resolution on ALPR transparency, the city's April decision not to renew its Flock Safety contract after an investigation, and Monroe County's July termination of its own Flock contract. A vote is planned Oct. 14.
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Pa. lawmakers eye limits, outright ban on Flock cameras as they prepare for fall return
witf.org
Pennsylvania lawmakers from both parties have introduced at least nine bills to restrict or ban automated license plate readers, seven of them within six weeks, and both candidates for governor oppose the cameras. Proposals range from an outright ban to warrant requirements and local opt-outs. The Department of General Services is removing Flock from the COSTARS state contracting portal, while police chiefs and district attorneys oppose a blanket ban.
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Toledo council to unveil plan to audit Flock camera system
13abc.com
Toledo City Council members plan to introduce legislation calling for an audit of the city's more than 100 Flock license plate reader cameras. Councilman Mac Driscoll wants the system paused during the review, citing resident concerns about data use, while Councilman John Hobbs III argues it should keep running absent proof of local misuse. No improper searches have been reported in Toledo or Lucas County.
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Bastrop City Council votes to terminate Flock contract, prevent similar cameras in the future
kbtx.com
Bastrop, Texas, city council voted to immediately end its contract with Flock Safety and to bar future automated license plate reader contracts in the city. Residents had pushed for removal after the cameras were covered the prior week. The report notes Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused funding for the cameras and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst called for a ban, with College Station scheduled to vote September 24.
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New Bedford Councilor Burgo Moves To End Current Plate-Reader Contract
newbedfordguide.com
Councilor-at-Large Shane Burgo has proposed an ordinance letting New Bedford's automated license plate reader agreement expire and barring purchases, renewals, or expansions of mass location-tracking tools without a council hearing, published privacy study, data rules, and vote. The draft would disclose camera sites, generally require a warrant or case number for searches, ban data sales and most federal or out-of-state sharing, and mandate annual audits. Police suspended the Flock system in August during an audit and misconduct investigations.