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Policy & Regulation

Sanders Introduces Ban Flock Act to Bar Federal Use of License Plate Readers

Senator Bernie Sanders introduces the Ban Flock Act to bar federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers or accessing data from local police and private companies.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-03 10:09

Despite its name, the bill does not mention Flock in its text. It would cover any and all automatic license plate reader systems. It would permit exceptions only for toll collection and for uses that Congress approves in future legislation. Any such future use would have to limit data retention to no longer than 48 hours.

The bill also includes enforcement provisions. If it became law, state and local governments would lose grants from five federal departments, including the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, starting in the first fiscal year after enactment, unless they ban the technology. Americans could sue the federal government over violations, and state attorneys general could enforce the law. The bill faces long odds in Congress.

Flock is the largest ALPR vendor in the United States, according to Sanders, with more than 120,000 cameras. In a February blog post, the company said its network processes more than 20 billion vehicle reads each month.

The company has faced growing pressure from communities that are protesting the product, suspending its use, and canceling their contracts at an escalating rate. Flock has tightened its rules. In August, CEO Garrett Langley, who had previously said that how police use the cameras is up to local agencies, announced a new default data retention period of seven days, down from 30.

Customers must also now use an audit tool that locks officers out pending review when it flags unusual searches. In one of the highest-profile cases of an officer abusing Flock’s platform, a former Milwaukee officer pleaded guilty to misconduct after searching for his then-partner and her ex 179 times, listing the reason as “investigation.” During a recent podcast interview, investor Jason Calacanis suggested a “double-key” system in which two people must approve a search. Langley said the idea is “on the whiteboard.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, and Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, are co-sponsors.