Congress Threatens Subpoena as Surveillance Firms Skip Privacy Hearing

A bipartisan group of US Senators is ready to subpoena Flock Safety and other major surveillance companies after their CEOs conspicuously skipped a recent hearing on the widespread use and potential misuse of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, led by Republican Senator Josh Hawley, is investigating the companies' data collection and sharing practices, especially after mounting concerns about privacy violations and alleged police misconduct. This comes as cities nationwide are re-evaluating or even canceling contracts with these firms amid public outcry. The skipped hearing, titled 'Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network,' saw witnesses like an ACLU expert argue for outright bans on ALPRs, citing incidents of wrongful accusations and data sharing with agencies like ICE, despite company denials. Critics highlight that companies like Flock Safety operate over 120,000 cameras across thousands of communities, gathering billions of vehicle images monthly, creating a vast network with minimal federal oversight. Concerns are also growing over the lack of robust audit systems and accusations that these companies have historically provided inaccurate information to local governments regarding data access and security. With key executives from Flock, Axon, Motorola, and Verkada failing to appear, Congress is now threatening to compel their testimony to understand how this surveillance data is stored, shared, and protected, or rather, not protected. Senators from both parties, including Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden, are calling for federal legislation to establish guardrails or even ban these AI-powered surveillance systems, indicating a significant legislative battle ahead that could redefine digital privacy in the US. The outcome will set a precedent for how far private companies can go in building mass surveillance infrastructure without accountability.