Overview
- On Oct. 1 U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill found a Tulsa deputy’s warrantless search of Flock Safety’s automated license-plate reader network was a Fourth Amendment search and ordered evidence obtained after the query suppressed.
- The judge said the deputy ran the plate for no clear investigative reason other than its out-of-state registration and that the lookup produced a travel log with more than 50 sightings across states, which she described as “indiscriminate mass surveillance.”
- The ruling applies to the case’s facts and does not bind other courts, and judicial responses are split with a Santa Clara County judge recently dismissing San José’s privacy suit over its Flock deployment.
- Lawmakers have moved to act: Sens. Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Ban Flock Act to bar federal use of ALPRs while Sen. Josh Hawley proposed the Stop Flock Abuse Act to impose strict limits and audits.
- Flock says it operates roughly 120,000 cameras and captures billions of vehicle observations monthly, the company plans to appeal adverse rulings, and the legal fight could reshape prosecutions, municipal contracts, and federal funding for ALPR use.