Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on Flock Safety to delete personal data collected from Americans without criminal connections and provide greater transparency about its nationwide surveillance network.
Schumer Targets Flock Safety Surveillance
On Monday, in a post on X, Schumer criticized Flock Safety’s use of automated license-plate cameras, saying the company had spent years collecting information on New Yorkers and other Americans.
“For years, Flock has pointed its lens at New Yorkers. Now it’s time to turn the lens around and zoom in on Flock,” he wrote.
He added, “Flock must delete personal data of American citizens without criminal connections and answer questions about the mountains of personal data they’ve already stockpiled.”
He also argued that the public needs more transparency about how the company operates and manages the data collected through its surveillance technology.
“We cannot allow this company to continue to operate in the shadows,” Schumer wrote. “No one in New York or anywhere in America should give up their privacy just by stepping outside.”
Hackers Exposed Flock Data Collection
Last month, Hackers who dismantled and reverse-engineered a Flock Safety camera found it captured about 1.6 million images of 50,200 vehicles over 21 days. A typical encounter generated about 28 images, while some produced more than 100.
One hacker said, “Why just destroy them when we can reverse engineer them and find the secrets of those spying on us?”
Flock had said, “The unauthorized removal and tampering of a Flock camera is illegal.”
Lawmakers Raised Privacy Concerns
In August, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called Flock Safety’s license plate network “AI mass surveillance” and said, “Flock is always watching.”
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) urged police to “GET A WARRANT” and said the technology had been “misused and abused” in his district.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called Flock an “unprecedented national surveillance network” and said, “The overwhelming majority of Americans captured in those records did nothing wrong.”
Flock later reduced its recommended data retention period from 30 days to seven days and introduced additional safeguards.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
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