Progressive Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Bar Federal Agencies From Using License Plate Readers

WASHINGTON -- A trio of progressive lawmakers introduced legislation Friday to ban federal agencies from using automated license plate readers and strip federal grant money from state and local governments that contract for the technology.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., announced the Ban Flock Act on Oct. 2, according to a report by UPI. The bill is directed squarely at Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company whose AI-powered cameras have become the dominant license plate reader network used by U.S. law enforcement.

As reported by UPI, the legislation would block federal agencies from acquiring, possessing, accessing or using a license plate reader or any data captured by one. That prohibition would extend to data pulled from a third-party database.

State and local governments that keep ALPR contracts would lose federal assistance from at least five agencies, including the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a review of the bill text by the Daily Caller. The legislation also creates a private right of action, letting Americans sue the federal government for violations.

"We cannot allow America to become a surveillance state," Sanders said in a statement quoted by UPI, arguing that a small number of technology company owners profit by giving the government power to track citizens' movements.

Ocasio-Cortez, in remarks cited by NewsNation, said the companies harvest private data without consent. Merkley said the right to privacy includes moving through a community without being monitored.

Flock Safety's network is substantial. According to a report by Hoodline citing NPR, the company holds contracts with more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide. A separate figure cited by azat.tv puts the company's installed camera count above 120,000, recording roughly 20 billion vehicle movements monthly.

The bill arrives amid a documented pattern of misuse. UPI reported that recent months have brought cases of officers using the technology to track people who were not under investigation, including former romantic partners. The bill's text specifically notes that Flock has shared state data with federal immigration officials and that officers have searched its database in connection with protests, according to the Northeast Times.

The legislation isn't the only anti-ALPR bill moving on Capitol Hill. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced a separate measure, the Flock-Off Act, which would go further by blocking municipalities from purchasing or installing any automated license plate readers or biometric surveillance cameras, as reported by NewsNation. The parallel push from both ends of the political spectrum signals that congressional opposition to the technology has moved beyond a single-party cause.

States aren't waiting on Congress. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a halt to all state funding for Flock cameras in September, the Houston Chronicle reported, according to Hoodline. Dallas then moved to shut down hundreds of state-funded cameras.

A federal judge added a legal dimension to the debate this week. TechSpot reported Oct. 3 that a judge found an Oklahoma police officer's Flock database search unconstitutional, describing the company's nationwide network as enabling "indiscriminate mass surveillance." The ruling doesn't set binding precedent, but TechSpot noted it breaks from prior decisions that found drivers have no reasonable expectation of privacy on public roads.

The Ban Flock Act faces dim near-term prospects. Congress adjourned ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, according to Littler's Policy Week in Review, and won't reconvene until a lame-duck session that already carries a packed agenda: government funding expires Dec. 11, along with farm bill provisions and the surface transportation authorization, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted.

Sources cited:
- UPI (https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/10/02/sanders-merkley-ocasio-cortez-ban-flock-act/2911790967805)
- NewsNation (https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/progressives-flock-camera-legislation/)
- Daily Caller (https://dailycaller.com/2026/10/02/aoc-bernie-sanders-merkley-ban-flock-cameras/)
- Northeast Times (https://northeasttimes.com/2026/10/03/senators-propose-ban-on-federal-use-of-license-plate-readers/)
- Hoodline (https://hoodline.com/2026/10/sanders-and-aoc-target-flock-cameras-with-bill-to-ban-federal-license-plate-tracking/)
- TechSpot (https://techspot.com/news/114082-federal-judge-calls-flock-search-unconstitutional-aoc-bernie.html)
- Littler Workplace Policy Institute (https://littler.com/news-analysis/asap/policy-week-review-october-2-2026)
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (https://www.crfb.org/blogs/upcoming-congressional-fiscal-policy-deadlines)