Senator Probes Flock's 120,000-Camera Network That Tracks Your Car
Your license plate may be in a national database—and cops have abused it.
A Republican senator just opened a formal investigation into Flock Safety, the company behind a massive network of over 120,000 license-plate-reading cameras in 49 states. Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter to Flock's CEO on Wednesday demanding details on how the company collects data, who has access, and how often officers abuse the system. The letter follows a wave of reports showing police using the cameras to track their ex-wives, ex-girlfriends, and even old boyfriends of partners—some cases involving over 2,000 searches on a single person.
Flock's cameras don't just capture license plates. Some also track people walking on the street, and the company uses AI to pool everything into searchable databases for law enforcement. Hawley argues this goes far beyond what the Constitution or Congress intended. He points out that the Supreme Court has treated a complete record of your movements differently than being seen in public once. The letter asks Flock to hand over internal documents, data retention policies, and a total count of confirmed misuse cases.
The backlash against Flock isn't partisan. Right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson mocked the company, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called its activities "out of control." Meanwhile, frustrated citizens have resorted to vandalizing cameras—getting arrested in some cases. Police have even set up decoy cameras to catch vandals. Flock says it received the letter and looks forward to providing "additional context" to the senator.
For ordinary drivers, the stakes are simple: every time you drive, your license plate can be scanned and stored in a searchable national database. Even if you've done nothing wrong, your movements become part of a permanent record that has already been misused by the people entrusted to protect you. Hawley is demanding answers by September 2026—but the question is whether the rest of the country will get them soon enough.
- Flock Safety has over 120,000 surveillance cameras in 49 states that track license plates and even people.
- Police officers have used the system to search ex-partners' plates thousands of times—one officer searched 2,000+ times.
- Sen. Josh Hawley launched an investigation, saying Congress never authorized this national surveillance network.
Why It Matters
Your driving history could be in a national police database—and some officers have already misused it.