Bernie Sanders says he will introduce a bill to ban Flock cameras

Automated license-plate cameras that log where ordinary drivers go have become a federal political fight, with both parties now taking aim at the company behind them.

What Sanders announced

On August 27, 2026, Senator Bernie Sanders said he will introduce legislation to ban Flock Safety’s AI-powered surveillance cameras. He put the count at more than 120,000 cameras across over 6,000 US communities. “If you are dropping your kids off at school, Flock knows. If you are going to a doctor, Flock knows,” he said. The bill has not yet been introduced.

Sanders is not alone. House Republicans have filed a separate bill to bar the federal government from purchasing Flock cameras, and Senator Josh Hawley has opened an investigation into the company’s data collection practices.

Why it matters

Flock’s network reads and stores plate data at a scale most drivers never consented to, and the pushback now spans both parties. Whether or not any single bill passes, the political center of gravity has shifted: mass automated tracking of drivers is being debated as a civil-liberties problem in Congress rather than a local procurement decision. The infrastructure is already installed in thousands of towns, which is what makes the legislative timing consequential.