There are plenty of issues Republicans and Democrats disagree on, but increasingly, they're aligned on this: they want Flock surveillance cameras gone. The widespread backlash against AI-powered license plate readers, which allow police to track people over time, is becoming more of a political issue as the midterm elections approach in races from Florida to Ohio and Wisconsin. At a press conference late last month, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov.
Josh Shapiro said he believes law enforcement needs public safety tools, but Flock cameras are not among them. "I would welcome bipartisan legislation to ban these across the state," Shapiro said. "This is not something in the public interest." Earlier this week, Florida Republican Gov.
Ron DeSantis announced plans to revoke permits for license plate readers on state highways. "I'm all about having law enforcement have tools," DeSantis said. "But I don't want to have this become a surveillance state." Every month, Flock cameras capture billions of license plates, along with other vehicle data.
Police say this tool helps them find stolen vehicles and missing people. But the technology has been abused. Officers have used it to stalk ex-partners, for instance.
Flock recently changed some of its features to prevent abuse. But the concerns are proving sticky, and largely bipartisan. Last week, Texas Republican Gov.
Greg Abbott froze state spending for the cameras. And Senate Republicans are investigating concerns over police misuse. Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU, says a wide swath of people across the political spectrum opposes Flock cameras.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
