A congressional bill proposal would effectively ban the controversial license plate reader (LPR) cameras released by Flock Safety, the company reportedly said in a statement on Friday.
U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) introduced The Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act last week, which would prohibit federal agencies from purchasing, operating, or accessing Flock cameras, or contracting with Flock Safety for products including LPR cameras, facial recognition technology, or products that capture data for “persistent or mass surveillance.”
Any agency found to have obtained Flock data in violation of the proposed law would be required to delete it within 30 days, and prosecutors would be barred from introducing it as evidence.
Burchett’s bill would also prevent state and local governments from purchasing Flock products using federal dollars, while still allowing the technology to be used at the state and local level.
In response to the legislation, a Flock Safety spokesman argued “public safety, privacy, and Fourth Amendment rights can and must coexist” in a statement reported by NewsChannel 9.
“Rather than banning a critical public safety tool, Congress should consider strong, clear safeguards that ensure accountability, oversight and responsible use are enshrined in law,” said the spokesman, according to the outlet. “We do not have to choose between protecting privacy and giving law enforcement the tools it needs to keep communities safe. We can — and should — do both.”
The Tennessee Star contacted Flock Safety to ask whether the company could share examples of regulations that could resolve public concerns about mass data collection, but did not receive a response prior to press time.
The legislation by Burchett came days before Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs called for the Knox County Commission to prohibit the cameras until the Tennessee General Assembly or Congress create regulations establishing how the technology can be used.
“I am urging our Commission to prohibit the use of Flock cameras and similar devices in our County,” said Jacobs in a statement on Monday. “With AI and deep learning, vehicle attribute recognition, multi-camera and multi-object tracking, vastly increased networking and data retention capabilities, these are much different devices than they were a decade ago.”
In response to Jacobs’ public statement, State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said that legislation targeting Flock cameras would be submitted to the Tennessee General Assembly in January 2027.
Flock Safety did not respond when asked by The Star if it had suggestions for lawmakers, including to resolve the concerns raised by Jacobs.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
