A U.S. Senate subcommittee launched a formal investigation into Flock Safety, demanding internal records and data management policies from the artificial intelligence surveillance firm following concerns over law enforcement misuse and false arrests.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, sent a letter on Wednesday to Flock Safety Chief Executive Officer Garrett Langley.
In the letter, Hawley argued that the Atlanta-based company has built an unprecedented nationwide surveillance system without explicit congressional authorization.
Flock Safety operates over 120,000 automated license plate reading cameras across 49 U.S. states. Using machine learning algorithms, the network processes more than 20 billion vehicle scans each month.
While the company markets its services to local law enforcement and community groups to help track criminal suspects and find missing persons, Hawley warned that the database pools location records on millions of citizens who have done nothing wrong.
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In his letter, Hawley stressed that Americans do not yield their constitutional privacy rights when they do harmless everyday activities. “Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, when they drop their kids off at school, or go to church,” he wrote.
He noted that, in practice, the private company’s internal policies currently serve as the primary safeguard protecting millions of drivers from government overreach.
The congressional inquiry showcases multiple reported instances of system misuse and false positive identifications.
In Wisconsin, prosecutors charged a Milwaukee police officer who allegedly used the network to search his girlfriend’s license plate 124 times and her former boyfriend’s plate 55 times.
In Missouri, the St. Charles County Police Department ended its contract after an internal audit revealed a civilian employee conducted unauthorized personal searches.
Systemic inaccuracies have also produced real-world consequences for innocent drivers in several instances.
In Florida, a woman spent 13 days in jail facing eight felony charges after a camera search mistakenly identified her vehicle before prosecutors ultimately dropped the case.
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In California, an audit led the Los Angeles Police Department to terminate its Flock contract after discovering officers had made 161 incorrect stops over two months based on false stolen-vehicle flags.
Elsewhere, local testing recorded false positive rates reaching up to 71%.
Hawley also questioned whether driver data could be commercialized or sold to third parties to support the company’s reported $8.3 billion valuation.
The subcommittee set a Sept. 8 deadline for Flock Safety to submit documentation detailing data retention policies, search verification protocols, internal security practices, and records of confirmed system misuse since 2021.
Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel acknowledged receipt of the letter Wednesday, stating the firm will respond directly to the subcommittee and looks forward to clarifying how its platform operates, its built-in privacy safeguards, and how law enforcement relies on the technology to solve crimes.