State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) on Monday said the Tennessee General Assembly will consider legislation to regulate license plate reader (LPR) cameras, including those produced by Flock Safety, after Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs urged county commissioners to temporarily ban the devices, citing the lack of state or federal regulations and guidelines.
Jacobs expressed his concerns about the Flock cameras, which critics say could allow mass surveillance assisted by artificial intelligence (AI), despite the Knox County Commission previously approving an agreement to add the company’s product to the LPR technologies already deployed in the county.
“I am urging our Commission to prohibit the use of Flock cameras and similar devices in our County,” said Jacobs in a video posted to social media, arguing that LPR technology and Flock cameras are substantially more advanced than the technology originally contemplated by Knox County in 2014.
“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,” said Jacobs, before urging county commissioners to temporarily block the devices, “until such time as a strong federal and/or state regulatory framework is in place.”
Please see this video and press release regarding Flock cameras in Knox County.
Video transcript:
Hello, this is Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. Today, I am urging our Commission to prohibit the use of Flock cameras and similar devices in our County.
For those of you who don't… pic.twitter.com/soDD4TNwN2— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) July 27, 2026
Jacobs then urged state and federal lawmakers to regulate how the devices can be used.
“I appeal to the Tennessee General Assembly and the United States Congress to look at this issue and determine what actions are needed to secure the Liberty of the People as new technologies such as these emerge,” said the mayor.
Soon after Jacobs published his video and statement, Zachary shared the mayor’s comments to X, where he confirmed state lawmakers would consider LPR legislation early next year.
“Thanks Mayor,” wrote Zachary. “It is on the list when we go back in session in January of 27.”
Thanks Mayor!
It is on the list when we go back in session in January of 27. https://t.co/seKayEda9V— Rep. Jason Zachary (@JasonZacharyTN) July 27, 2026
Jacobs’ decision, and Zachary’s suggestion that state regulations could be on the horizon, come after the company announced a “nationwide safety audit” that began in Tennessee.
The move was announced after Steve Eimers, the Tennessee-based highway safety advocate known online as The Guardrail Guy, raised public safety concerns about the company’s devices being installed near highway guardrails.
After Eimers revealed that he spoke to members of the Flock Safety team, CEO Garrett Langley confirmed that 16 different installations in Tennessee were fixed.
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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].
Photo “Flock Camera” by Tony Webster. CC BY 2.0.
