Rep. Thomas Massie said Saturday he plans to introduce legislation that would cut off federal funding to cities, local governments and police departments that use controversial Flock Safety surveillance cameras.
The Atlanta-based company, known for smart camera systems capable of identifying vehicles by details such as dents, bumper stickers and roof racks, is facing fresh scrutiny from the Kentucky Republican. Massie, a libertarian-leaning lawmaker, said the measure is aimed at reinforcing Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and government surveillance.
“I’ll soon be sponsoring a bill to withhold federal money from municipalities and police departments that deploy Flock (and other style) cameras to surveil law-abiding citizens,” Massie wrote.
Massie, who is set to leave Congress after his seventh term ends in January, shared the announcement on X alongside a parody “don’t flock on me” flag.
Flock Safety has rapidly become one of law enforcement’s most widely used surveillance platforms. Since 2018, the company has connected with more than 5,000 police agencies nationwide and deployed nearly 90,000 cameras, according to DeFlock, an activist group that monitors the company’s growth and surveillance network.
Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley, who previously called DeFlock a “terroristic organization” before apologizing for the comment, has defended the technology as an essential tool for modern policing. He has said the cameras help investigators solve crimes, recover stolen vehicles, detect gunshots, track fleeing suspects and support Amber Alerts.
Privacy advocates, however, argue that Flock’s license plate reader network amounts to “Big Brother”-style mass surveillance by local government, with billions of monthly plate scans feeding police databases that can be shared across agencies.
Massie’s proposal also follows reports from Georgia, where 18 officers have been arrested over allegations of misusing Flock Safety camera data, including a police supervisor accused of using the system to track her boyfriend.
There has also been a growing movement of anti-Flock vigilantes across the country vandalizing the cameras in their hometowns, including one recent incident in Connecticut where four cameras were chopped down just last week, sources told The Post.
A spokesperson for Flock Safety told The Post that Massie’s bill would “have real consequences for public safety.” The company estimates it has supported more than 1 million investigations, assisted in 20% of all solved cases in jurisdictions that partner with it, and has helped locate more than 10,000 missing people to date.
“Rather than banning a critical public safety tool, Congress should consider strong, clear safeguards that ensure accountability, oversight, and responsible use are enshrined in law,” the spokesperson said.
“We do not have to choose between protecting privacy and giving law enforcement the tools it needs to keep communities safe,” the representative added. “We can — and should — do both.”
