{"id":2651579,"date":"2026-08-29T07:14:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hawley-launches-investigation-into-flock-over-surveillance-concerns\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T07:15:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:15:49","slug":"hawley-launches-investigation-into-flock-over-surveillance-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hawley-launches-investigation-into-flock-over-surveillance-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawley Launches Investigation Into Flock Over Surveillance Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhawley-launches-investigation-into-flock-over-surveillance-concerns%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2651579&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has initiated an investigation into Flock Safety&#8217;s use of AI-powered surveillance cameras that collect and store data on Americans. He sent a letter to the company&#8217;s CEO, Garrett Langley, requesting detailed documents and information by September 8, 2026, to scrutinize how the company collects, retains, and shares data. Hawley highlighted concerns over the lack of congressional authority and safeguards, citing cases where misuse of the system led to privacy violations, such as unauthorized license plate searches by police officers and an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >individual wrongly imprisoned based<\/a> on Flock&#8217;s data.The investigation aims to understand the extent of misuse and access to personal data.<\/p>\n<p>Despite public safety benefits,there is ongoing legislative debate about banning or regulating such surveillance tools. Some lawmakers, like Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna,are working on bills to prohibit their use entirely,while others advocate for strong legal safeguards rather than outright bans. Flock defends the use of license plate readers, emphasizing that courts have generally found their use in public spaces does not violate the fourth Amendment, and argues that privacy and security interests can coexist with proper oversight.concerns remain over law enforcement abuse, privacy infringements, and potential violations of constitutional rights, leading some cities to cancel their contracts with Flock. the issue reflects broader debates over privacy, safety, and government oversight in surveillance technology.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley opened an investigation Wednesday into Flock Safety cameras and its access to Americans\u2019 data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Hawley sent a <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/28581149-hawley-flock-camera-investigation-letter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter<\/a> to Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley requesting that he send all documents and information by Sept. 8 to investigate the company\u2019s \u201ccollection, retention, and dissemination\u201d from its artificial intelligence (AI) powered surveillance cameras. The senator chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which will lead the investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cCongress never authorized the network your industry has built. Your company\u2019s internal policies are, in practice, the only safeguards for hundreds of millions of Americans,\u201d Hawley wrote. \u201cPeople across the country are now discovering that fact and demanding answers from their elected officials.In light of this abuse of driver information, the American people want to know who has access to their personal data and how. This investigation will seek those answers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cTo facilitate that, please produce alldocuments and information specified in the attached annex no later than September 8, 2026. If you have questions about the scope of these requests, please contact my office to discuss,\u201d Hawley continued.<\/p>\n<div>The letter didn\u2019t mention using subpoenas to extract the requested documents from Flock.<\/div>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Hawley noted that the majority of people in the cameras\u2019 records committed no crimes and that the \u201clack of safeguards\u201d in the system had serious consequences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cIn Milwaukee, prosecutors charged a policeofficer who allegedly searched his girlfriend\u2019s license plate 124 times and her former boyfriend\u2019s plate 55times, entering \u201cinvestigation\u201d as his justification each time. Worse still, the officer was not caught by the company\u2019s audit systems\u2014he was caught because a private citizen looked up his own plate on a public website,\u201d the letter stated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Flock also collected information about a Florida resident who spent 13 days in jail and faced eight felony counts, including three counts of vehicular homicide, for a crime she did not commit, according to the letter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Hawley asked Langley to answer a series of questions, which included stating the parameters which customers can conduct statewide or nationwide searches of vehicles or driver data, according to the letter. The letter asked Langley to state the total number of confirmed instances of misuse since Jan. 1, 2021, describe what a user must enter to justify a search and name every restriction Flock imposes on the purposes for which its systems can be searched.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Not a single bill in Congress has yet been introduced to ban Flock cameras or other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-violence-70-shot-at-least-10-killed-as-highway-shootings-hit-all-time-high\/\" title=\"Chicago Violence: 70 Shot, At Least 10 Killed As Highway Shootings Hit \u2018All-Time High\u2019\">automated license plate readers<\/a> (ALPRs) outright. Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said on July 22 that she was working on a bill to ban them completely, though that bill has yet to be introduced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-bill\/9800\/text\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">introduced<\/a> the \u201cProtection Against Mass Surveillance Act\u201d in July to ban federal agencies from purchasing or operating Flock cameras or any form of automated surveillance that \u201cidentify, track, or record individuals.\u201d Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie said he planned to introduce a bill aiming to withhold federal funds from local municipalities and police departments using Flock and ALPRs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Flock previously told the DCNF that Congress should consider \u201cstrong, clear safeguards\u201d rather than outright banning automated surveillance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cWe believe public safety, privacy, and Fourth Amendment rights can and must coexist,\u201d a Flock spokesperson told the DCNF. \u201cMore than 40 courts across the country have considered LPRs in the context of the Fourth Amendment and ruled overwhelmingly that the use of these tools in public spaces does not require a warrant. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cWe do not have to choose between protecting privacy and giving law enforcement the tools it needs to keep communities safe. We can \u2014 and should \u2014 do both,\u201d the spokesperson continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Federal officials have a history of violating laws that were intended to protect Americans\u2019 constitutional rights, including the FBI\u2019s repeated abuse of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Surveillance concerns mounted as officers used these systems to stalk ex-girlfriends or romantic interests. The Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest law firm, <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/ij.org\/police-have-reportedly-used-license-plate-readers-to-stalk-romantic-interests-at-least-14-times-in-recent-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a> 30 instances where officers used these cameras to \u201cstalk romantic interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">A former officer in Milwaukee <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/mkepdpio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Criminal-Complaint_3-Ayala-Josue.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">secretly used<\/a> the Flock system to search the location of his romantic partner 124 times. An innocent driver in Wisconsin was held at <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/us\/articles\/innocent-driver-held-gunpoint-over-123000184.html?guccounter=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gunpoint<\/a> in early August after a camera made a mistake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Due to these concerns, some cities cancelled their Flock contracts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">President Donald Trump said on Aug. 17 that Flock cameras have \u201cpros and cons.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. 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Hawley probes Flock Safety cameras&#8217; data access and use<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2651580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1970.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[22689,50817,3976,14429],"class_list":["post-2651579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-flock","tag-hawley-2","tag-investigation","tag-surveillance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1970.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2651579"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651583,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651579\/revisions\/2651583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2651580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2651579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2651579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2651579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}