Sanders moves to block federal agencies from using Flock license plate readers

The bill would limit federal access to ALPR data and add penalties for state and local governments that keep using the systems.

Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced the Ban Flock Act, a bill aimed at stopping federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers and from accessing data gathered by local police or private companies. The measure would still permit toll collection and any future uses approved by Congress, but those new uses would have to keep data for no more than 48 hours. If enacted, it would also put pressure on state and local governments by cutting off certain federal grants unless they stop using the technology, while also creating a path for lawsuits and enforcement by state attorneys general. The push comes as Flock Safety faces growing public backlash and tighter rules of its own: Sanders says it is the largest ALPR vendor in the U.S. with more than 120,000 cameras, and the company says its network handles more than 20 billion vehicle reads a month.