Data misuse and privacy concerns with AI license plate readers
Flock Safety's automated license plate readers, deployed by police departments across the U.S., have reportedly been misused to conduct immigration-related searches and searches related to sensitive personal matters, prompting privacy concerns and legislative proposals to restrict their use.
What happened
Flock cameras are automated license plate readers that photograph passing vehicles and record details such as time, location, color and vehicle type, storing information in a searchable database for 30 days before permanent erasure.
Reported misuse has included searches for a recipient of an illegal abortion, use of AI to convert still photos to video, and police sharing login information with federal immigration agents, with Flock data used in immigration-related searches across multiple cities including Louisville and Atlanta.
Reported impact
The American Civil Liberties Union calls Flock's network a "dangerous nationwide mass-surveillance infrastructure." Town leaders in Warren, Rhode Island raised concerns about data use and privacy, worrying that as technology evolves, access could expand in ways that threaten civil liberties.
Police departments across the country have used Flock data to assist in federal immigration-related searches, with the Louisville Metro Police Department disciplining two employees, Nicholas Owen and Jeremy Ruoff, for sharing login information and running immigration searches.
Index analysis
Flock cameras have been credited with helping solve hundreds of crimes statewide by alerting police to stolen vehicles and cars connected to criminal investigations. In Kentucky, a bill introduced by Rep. TJ Roberts would ban the use of license plate reading cameras, making their use a Class D felony, backed by 19 Republicans and two Democrats in the Kentucky House.
Governance controls
Rhode Island State Police must get permission from each community before installing cameras; Warren is the only town to have rejected the proposal. The Bowling Green Police Department stated it will not share login information with ICE agents, though noted that ICE agents may have access through Flock itself rather than through the police department.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.