Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates unite in calling for ban on Flock cameras
Republican gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity joins Democrat Josh Shapiro in urging Pennsylvania to prohibit the use of Flock vehicle-tracking cameras.
Stacy Garrity, the Republican contender for Pennsylvania governor, announced her support for prohibiting Flock cameras, describing them as an "intrusive invasion of privacy." Her position aligns with Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro, who told a public-safety gathering near Philadelphia that he would welcome bipartisan legislation to ban the technology and noted that the Pennsylvania State Police do not employ it. Lawmakers are reviewing multiple proposals aimed at regulating or outlawing the cameras, which collect license-plate data on a large scale and have raised civil-liberties questions.
The controversy follows recent moves by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who ordered the removal of the devices from state roads, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who barred state agencies from spending on them. During a local radio interview, Garrity asked host Mike Opelka to define the cameras before condemning them as another instance of government overreach, then shifted the conversation to Shapiro's dispute with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over measles-related deaths. Advocates argue the cameras aid in recovering stolen vehicles and locating missing persons, but their rapid spread has made them a flashpoint in the midterm political landscape.
Why it matters
The bipartisan push to ban Flock cameras could shape privacy legislation and law-enforcement tools in Pennsylvania and beyond.
How this story developed
- Jul 9 Flock Safety CEO brands transparency group as 'terrorist' amid AI camera controversy
- Aug 13 Flock Safety announced it will keep license-plate-reader footage for only seven days and require police to log a case code for every query.
- Aug 13 Former Bibb County sheriff’s deputies were arrested on stalking charges for using Flock license‑plate readers for personal purposes.
- Aug 13 Flock made its audit tool mandatory and reduced the default retention window to seven days.
- Aug 18 Incumbent Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that new data-center projects will no longer receive priority permits or tax breaks unless they cover their full electricity costs, limit water consumption and engage locally. In Texas, Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa aired a TV spot accusing Governor Greg Abbott of favoring data-center interests over rural communities. Similar moves are unfolding in Arizona, New York, Illinois and Ohio, where officials are imposing moratoriums or stricter standards on the industry.
- Aug 18 Park rangers reported Flock cameras appearing in several national forests.
- Aug 19 West Virginia legislator Chris Anders introduced a bill to ban Flock Safety cameras on constitutional grounds.
- Aug 21 New Bedford Police Department shut down its entire Flock camera system after discovering repeated unauthorized plate searches.
- Aug 26 Governor Shapiro signed an executive order ending fast‑track permitting for AI data‑center projects.
- Aug 26 Texas residents rallied at a Harris County meeting to demand stronger privacy protections for Flock cameras.
- Aug 26 A clerical error in Milwaukee’s Flock camera database led to a gunpoint traffic stop, prompting the driver to hire counsel and submit a notice of claim against the city and police department.
- Aug 28 Pflugerville, Texas voted to terminate its contract with Flock Safety and switched off all 28 cameras.
- Aug 30 Judge Lesa Gelb ruled that Salem Township’s planning commission violated Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act by excluding residents from a data‑center ordinance meeting.
- Aug 31 Senator Josh Hawley opened a Senate investigation into Flock Safety's data practices.
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