Ban Flock Act: Congress Eyes Limits on Federal ALPR Use

A bill in Congress called the Ban Flock Act would stop federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers, the kind of camera systems sold by companies like Flock Safety. The video above walks through what the bill does. We want to put it in context for readers who are trying to understand why a camera on a pole has become a national political issue.

Why a federal bill matters

Most of the ALPR fight so far has played out at the city council and county level, with residents pushing back on local police contracts one jurisdiction at a time. A federal bill is different. It signals that lawmakers in Washington are starting to see license plate surveillance as a national policy question, not just a local one. Federal agencies already have access to huge amounts of location data, sometimes through their own cameras and sometimes by tapping into local networks that cities built with Flock or similar vendors. A ban at the federal level would not automatically stop local police from running their own systems, but it would draw a clear line around how far that data can travel once it leaves a city.

What ALPRs actually do

Automatic license plate readers are cameras, often mounted on poles, patrol cars, or fixed infrastructure, that photograph every passing plate and log the time, date, and GPS location. The system does not just flag stolen cars or wanted suspects. It builds a searchable record of where a vehicle has been, over weeks or months, regardless of whether the driver is suspected of anything. That record can be queried later, shared across agencies, and in many cases shared across state lines or with federal partners through real-time crime center arrangements.

The accountability gap

The core concern driving bills like this one is not that license plate readers never help solve crimes. It is that the data they collect is rarely governed by clear rules about who can access it, how long it is kept, and what it gets used for beyond the original purpose. Without those guardrails, a tool pitched for finding stolen vehicles can quietly become a tool for tracking anyone, including people who have done nothing wrong.

What you can do

Whatever happens with this specific bill, the broader fight over ALPR accountability is happening in your own backyard. Check our map to see what surveillance infrastructure already exists near you, read our learn page to understand how these systems work and who operates them, and visit take action for concrete steps you can bring to your own city council, whether or not Congress ever passes this bill.