Lawmakers, court, and Wyden challenge Flock plate surveillance

Lawmakers proposed limits on Flock plate readers, an Oklahoma judge suppressed warrantless ALPR evidence, and Wyden sought a HIDTA privacy review.

After reporting on Flock automatic license plate readers, lawmakers proposed new limits, a federal judge suppressed warrantless plate data, and Senator Ron Wyden demanded a White House privacy review. Senators Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced the Ban Flock Act, which would bar federal agencies from using ALPRs, block federal funding to state and local governments that use them, and allow lawsuits over rights violations. Senator Josh Hawley separately proposed the Stop Flock Abuse Act, requiring written approval for each search, deletion of driver data after ten days except in active investigations, and a ban on adding facial recognition. On October 1, U.S. District Judge Sara Hill ruled a warrantless Flock search in an Oklahoma methamphetamine case unconstitutional mass surveillance under the Fourth Amendment, relying on the Supreme Court's June Chatrie geofence decision; the ruling is not binding. Sources disagree on the query: The Record said about 50 sightings over a month across multiple states, while 404 Media said a Tulsa deputy used about 79 Flock and Motorola hits over 30 days in the arrest of Melissa Kyle and that the court also suppressed a vehicle search after police found more than 91 pounds of meth. Wyden wrote ONDCP director Sara Carter demanding release of a 2024 MITRE privacy assessment of HIDTA systems that mirror city plate data from Flock, Axon, and Motorola into federal databases, which his office said ONDCP had refused to share.