# Cut the cameras: Flock surveillance cameras spur rare bipartisan backlash

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/cut-the-cameras-flock-surveillance-cameras-spur-rare-bipartisan-backlash/
- Published: 2026-09-05T22:12:30+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-06T04:14:21+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/05/flock-cameras-political-backlash
- Topics: Americas, Art, Business, Companies, Culture, Government, Politics, Technology, World

## Key points

- Flock's licence-plate cameras spark rare left-right US backlash.
- Abuse reports include police stalking and ICE tracking use.
- Over 100 jurisdictions have cancelled their Flock contracts.

## Summary

A rare cross-party backlash has emerged in the United States against Flock Safety's automated licence-plate reader cameras, with both left-wing and right-wing politicians, activists and privacy campaigners uniting against a single company's surveillance technology. The roughly 120,000 Flock cameras nationwide conduct about two billion scans a month, and controversy grew after reports that police officers had misused the network to stalk ex-partners and track people seeking abortions, while the data is also frequently accessed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An ACLU analyst said he had never seen such a grassroots uprising against a surveillance technology in over 20 years, with left-wing opposition rooted in memories of state surveillance of activists and right-wing hostility driven by a "don't tread on me" resistance to government intrusion.

The backlash produced concrete political action: Texas's Republican governor Greg Abbott barred state agencies from buying Flock products, progressive senator Bernie Sanders pledged legislation restricting the cameras, Republican senator Josh Hawley opened an investigation into privacy abuses, and Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie co-sponsored a bill to block federal funding for the devices. Polling found 46% of Americans opposed licence-plate readers in their community, up 13 points on the previous year, while grassroots activists filmed themselves destroying cameras and a movement called DeFlock tracked opposition. More than 100 US jurisdictions had cancelled their Flock contracts by the time the row peaked, though some simply switched to rival camera providers rather than ending surveillance altogether; Flock Safety did not respond to requests for comment.

## Coverage

- [The Guardian: Cut the cameras: Flock surveillance cameras spur rare bipartisan backlash](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/05/flock-cameras-political-backlash)
- [Fox News: Former Pentagon AI chief warns Flock cameras could create 'China-like surveillance state' in the US](https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-pentagon-ai-chief-warns-flock-cameras-could-create-china-like-surveillance-state-us)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.