U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri is backing federal legislation that would restrict how governments collect and use data from automated license plate reader systems such as Flock Safety cameras.
The Republican congressman has joined Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky in introducing legislation to limit government access to vehicle location data gathered through the camera networks.
Burlison told Missourinet he is concerned the technology allows the collection and storage of information beyond a single image of a vehicle.
“That is in question whether or not the 4th Amendment, the 14th Amendment are being violated. We need to take a step back, hit the pause button on these cameras, because for that data to be collected in a way in which it’s now in a centralized database that goes beyond that one-time photo,” Burlison said.
Law enforcement agencies across Missouri and the nation use Flock cameras to help investigate crimes by capturing images of passing vehicles and recording license plate information.
Burlison argues the systems raise constitutional concerns because data can be gathered on people who are not suspected of any crime.
“This is absolutely an unreasonable search to be able to look up information about any and all people, whether they violated a crime or not. And we’re seeing the abuses of that. And so, to me, there needs to be significant guardrails,” he said.
The legislation, known as the “Flock Off” Act, would prohibit law enforcement agencies from using federal dollars to purchase or operate the systems. Agencies that want to continue receiving federal funding would be required to remove the technology, according to Burlison.
“It’s called Flock Off. And that bill currently says that law enforcement cannot use federal dollars to pay for these systems. And if they want to continue to collect federal dollars, they need to dismantle these systems at this time,” he said.
Burlison said the proposal is intended to protect privacy rights while still allowing law enforcement to investigate crimes. The bill would establish federal limits on how automated license plate reader data is collected, retained and accessed by government agencies.
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