Florida Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Restrict Federal Use of License-Plate Surveillance Cameras

On September 24, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) introduced the Facilitating Liberty and Accountability for Flock Observations (FLAFO) Act, which mandates that federal agencies obtain a warrant before purchasing, leasing, operating, accessing, or sharing data from networked automated license-plate readers. The proposal also conditions Justice Department grant eligibility on state, local, or tribal police adopting comparable privacy rules.

Steube says the measure addresses the evolution of ALPR systems into nationwide surveillance tools that can track vehicle movements without individualized suspicion, pointing to alleged abuses in Florida, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The bill targets the dominant market player, Flock Safety, whose extensive network was recently exposed by researcher Joshua Michael through an interactive map that identified more than 300,000 Flock-linked devices across the United States.

Flock’s CEO Garrett Langley defended the technology as a safety measure, emphasizing transparency and accountability, while the company has faced criticism over a data-access vulnerability and a trademark complaint to remove the map. Lawmakers are now debating the appropriate limits on ALPR use as the FLAFO Act moves forward.