Hawley rips Flocks sprawling surveillance web as Texas cities cut cameras over privacy and data fears
Sen.Josh Hawley is demanding answers from Flock Safety over whether its rapidly expanding network of AI-powered cameras has helped create a searchable national database of Americans’ movements as communities across the country pull the plug on the technology amid mounting privacy concerns."Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network," Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital.
"They boast more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month.""I’m investigating Flock cameras to determine who has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data and what they’re doing with it," he added."Americans deserve answers."POWERFUL CRIME-FIGHTING SURVEILLANCE GROWTH SPURS LAWMAKERS TO ISSUE WARNING: 'ORWELLIAN'An aerial view shows a Flock Safety camera mounted to a light pole in Burbank, Calif., Aug.
3, 2026.Flock Safety's automated license plate reader cameras have been deployed in over 120,000 locations across 49 states, using artificial intelligence to identify vehicles by their license plates, make, model and color to help law enforcement investigate crimes, while also drawing criticism from privacy advocates over concerns about mass surveillance and the collection of motorists' location data.
(Getty Images)Robert Frommer, director of the Institute for Justice’s Project on the Fourth Amendment, told Fox News Digital that the core concern is not simply the use of cameras, but police being able to search a person’s past movements without first getting approval from a judge."The number one reform that I think is needed here is a warrant," Frommer said."Go to a judge, explain to the judge why you should be able to use this tool."FLOCK SAFETY CAMERAS NEED CONSTITUTIONAL GUARDRAILS BEFORE FURTHER DEPLOYMENT, TENNESSEE MAYOR ARGUESProtesters rally against the use of Flock cameras April 3, 2026, outside City Hall in Troy, N.Y.
(Jim Franco/ Times Union via Getty Images)Frommer said police should still be abl...