![[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #122531](https://newsview.top/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/josh-hawley-capitol-1024x576.jpg "Three new companies face Josh Hawley's investigation into AI surveillance and vehicle tracking")
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Flock cameras raise privacy concerns after alleged misuse
‘Outnumbered’ debates privacy concerns surrounding Flock surveillance cameras after allegations of misuse by law enforcement, while weighing the technology’s role in solving crimes, locating missing people and protecting public safety.
Sen.Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is expanding his investigation into alleged privacy violations fromFlock Safety camerasto three additional companies amid concerns about the handling of images and data generated by AI-backed surveillance cameras.
Hawley put Motorola Solutions Inc., Verkada Inc.and Axon Enterprise Inc.on notice in a series of letters that the lawmaker sent on Wednesday.
“On August 26th, I wrote to your competitor Flock Safety to express my concerns regarding the size and pervasiveness of its network and demanding answers as to reports of abuse and costly errors from its technology,” Hawley’s letter to the three companies reads.“However, Flock does not stand alone in this industry;you and others are building large camera networks, assisted by artificial intelligence, that intrude on the privacy of all Americans.”
HAWLEY RIPS FLOCK’S SPRAWLING SURVEILLANCE WEB AS TEXAS CITIES CUT CAMERAS OVER PRIVACY AND DATA FEARS
Sen.Josh Hawley, R-Mo., talks with reporters in the U.S.Capitol during votes related to the government shutdown on Thursday, Oct.16, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Hawley, who serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, has been vocal about his concerns that Flock Safety cameras undermine personal privacy with an AI-powered system that tracks the movements of Americans.
“Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school or go to church,” Hawley said in a post on X last week.“I’m investigating Flock cameras to determine WHO has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data – and what they’re doing with it.”
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Hawley asked each of the companies to explain how broadly customers can search vehicle data, how long the company retains license plate information, how many confirmed cases of misuse have occurred since 2021 and what safeguards are in place to ensure law enforcement officers provide legitimate justifications before conducting searches.
A pigeon perches on a Flock Safety camera, mounted high on a traffic signal pole at the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove, Calif.on Friday, Aug.14, 2026.(Allen J.Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“We received the letter and have reached out to Senator Hawley’s office to discuss his requests,” an Axon spokesperson said.“We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to safety and responsible innovation.”
A number of politicians have taken action against AI-powered cameras, with Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis ordering the removal of all license plate reader cameras from Florida state roads and Texas Gov.Greg Abbottordering all state agencies to stop spending state money on Flock Safety cameras.
FLOCK SURVEILLANCE SPREADS ACROSS THE SOUTH AS RED-STATE LAWMAKERS SEEK TO AX ‘1984’-STYLE TRACKING TOOLS
Flock Safety cameras useartificial intelligence to automatically trackand identify vehicles and license plates for local law enforcement use.Nationwide concern has grown about whether the AI-backed system should be allowed to track the movement of vehicles without a warrant or the consent of drivers.
About 120,000 Flock Safety cameras operate in every state except Alaska.
Last week, Hawley also sent a letter to Flock Safety, requesting similar information from the company.
FLOCK SAFETY CEO CALLS FOR NATIONAL ‘COMPROMISE’ AMID CAMERA SABOTAGE AND PUBLIC REVOLT
Texas Gov.Greg Abbott moved to cut off state-agency funding for Flock cameras as communities across the state reconsider their use of the technology.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“We look forward to working with Senator Hawley and the Subcommittee to provide additional context about how our technology works, the safeguards built into our platform and how law enforcement agencies use Flock to solve crime and find missing people,” Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel said.
INSIDE THE FAR-LEFT’S ANTI-DATA CENTER PUSH AND WHAT EXPERTS SAY IS DRIVING IT: ‘PLAYBOOK WE’VE SEEN BEFORE’
The growing backlash against Flock cameras illustrates an unusual convergence: Republicans and far-left activists are arriving at the same target from sharply different ideological directions.While GOP lawmakers are focused on privacy, government overreach and protecting Americans from warrantless tracking, socialist and communist organizers have folded the cameras into a broader campaign against artificial intelligence, policing, immigration enforcement, the construction of data centers and the demonization of the United States as a “police state” and “AI surveillance state.”
Over the past year, far-left organizations within a network funded by pro-China, Shanghai-based tech tycoonNeville Roy Singhamhave built vocal community campaigns against the Flock Safety cameras, while also targeting the construction of data centers.The GOP, including President Donald Trump and administration officials, have been leading voices of support for the continued construction of data centers.
In May, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Denver chapter partnered with Indivisible and the far-left Sunrise Movement andpromoteda forum examining the “connections between mass surveillance and data centers and how BOTH only serve the needs of billionaires and not our communities.”
MARXIST ORGANIZER LEADS CAMPAIGN AGAINST VIRGINIA AI DATA CENTER AS FOREIGN INFLUENCE CONCERNS MOUNT
By July 25, in Tucson, Ariz., the local Party for Socialism and Liberation chapter joined “deFLOCK Tucson” and the “No Desert Data Center Coalition” for an event called “It’s ALL Connected” at the “Global Justice Center” on E.26th Street.
The promotional material asked what mass surveillance, data centers and electric power had in common.The answer: “IT’S ALL CONNECTED.”
In a new report, “The Compute War at Home,” commissioned by Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, the authors note that “money, media, organizing capacity and campaign objectives converge in the same ecosystem.”
David Chung, organizing director at The People’s Forum, prepares for an anti-war demonstration in Union Square in New York City, left.Tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham attends The Red Party in New York City on Feb.14, 2018, right.Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images)
“Issue pairings rarely multiply fourteen-fold in a matter of weeks without a catalyst, particularly when the surge begins immediately after organizers start promoting the connection,” the report states.
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