Gov. Kehoe signs executive order to tighten rules on Missouri license plate readers

Our Take

Credit to FOX 2 St. Louis for flagging this, but let's be clear-eyed about what actually happened here. An executive order is not a statute. It can be rewritten or rescinded by the next governor with a stroke of a pen, and it doesn't carry the same enforcement teeth or judicial review that a bill passed by the legislature does. "Strict safeguards" sounds reassuring in a press release, but the real test is whether independent auditors, courts, and the public can actually hold Flock Safety and the police departments using its cameras accountable when those safeguards get ignored.

We've seen this pattern before: officials respond to public pressure over ALPR sprawl with a symbolic gesture, while the underlying network of cameras keeps expanding and the data-sharing agreements between agencies stay opaque. Missouri drivers deserve to know exactly who can access their movement history, for how long it's retained, and whether out-of-state or federal agencies can query it without a warrant. An executive order that doesn't answer those questions in enforceable terms is a start, not a finish line.

If you're in Missouri, don't just take the governor's word for it — check our map to see how many Flock cameras are already tracking traffic near you, and head to take-action for ways to push your city council for real transparency, not just an order that can quietly disappear.