As police agencies drop Flock, Kaul calls for state law regulating automatic license plate readers
The short version: Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul's call for statewide ALPR rules, reported by CBS 58, shows even law enforcement insiders admit Flock's spread has outrun any real oversight.
Our Take
When the state's own top prosecutor says automatic license plate readers need a law to rein them in, that's not an activist talking point — it's an admission that Flock Safety's camera network grew faster than anyone bothered to write rules for it. CBS 58's report on Attorney General Josh Kaul, alongside Wisconsin agencies actually walking away from their Flock contracts, is a sign that the 'just trust the vendor' era of ALPR deployment is cracking under its own weight.
What's notable here isn't just one official's opinion — it's the pattern. Departments sign up for a slick pitch about catching stolen cars, then quietly discover there's no statute governing who can query the database, how long plate scans sit in storage, or whether out-of-state agencies and federal partners get a backdoor into local driving histories. Kaul calling for legislation is a tacit admission that policy has been improvised by press release, not written into law, while millions of plates get logged along the way.
Regulation on paper is only as good as the enforcement behind it, and Wisconsin drivers shouldn't wait for Madison to catch up before finding out how exposed they already are. Check our camera map to see what's tracking your own commute, and visit our take-action page if you want to push your city council or state legislature to put real limits on this technology before it becomes permanent infrastructure.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of CBS 58, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.