Proposed bill plans to curb Flock cameras in NY
The short version: A New York bill targeting federal use of Flock cameras is a start, but it leaves the bigger local ALPR dragnet untouched.
Our Take
ABC7NY's local coverage (credit to their newsroom for getting this on broadcast radar) flags a bill aimed at restricting federal agencies from tapping into Flock Safety's camera network in New York. That's worth watching, because the quiet backend data-sharing between local police and federal agencies like ICE and the FBI is exactly how a "local" camera network becomes a national surveillance apparatus overnight.
But let's be clear-eyed about what this bill does and doesn't do. Banning federal access doesn't stop the thousands of local police departments across New York from installing these cameras, logging your plate, your travel patterns, and your location history, often without a warrant and often without the public ever voting on it. The cameras keep running, the data keeps piling up, and state law enforcement can still share it around in ways residents never consented to. A federal carve-out is a bandage, not a cure.
If you want to know how many of these cameras are already watching your own neighborhood in New York, check our camera map. And if this bill doesn't go far enough for your liking, our take-action page has tools to push your local council for real transparency and limits, not just a federal loophole closed while the local dragnet grows.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Eyewitness News ABC7NY, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.