Tlaib unveils bill to prohibit use of federal funding for Flock, other automated surveillance tech

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) announced new federal legislation at a news conference Wednesday to prohibit the use of federal funds for the purchase or operation of any mass surveillance technology, including the controversial automated license plate reader systems from Flock.

“We’re here today to tell Flock to get out of our communities,” Tlaib said. “They’re in our neighborhoods right now, and the federal government is sending millions of dollars to states, cities, and police departments to fund systems of mass surveillance, like Flock, Motorola, and Axon. Instead of investing in real community safety, our local governments are spending millions on AI-equipped technology that misidentifies our residents. We are saying no more.”

The bill, H.R. 10807, known as the “Get the Flock Out of Our Communities Act,” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday and referred to both the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on the Judiciary. 

Tlaib said privacy rights were the driving force behind the legislation. She also said Flock and similar technology companies should be held liable for any misuse of collected data. 

“Our privacy and constitutional rights have already been violated by these types of technologies. We’ve already seen it with facial recognition. I’ll say it again: Flock does not make us safer,” Tlaib said. “It is part of an expanded police state. Federal funds should be used to invest in our communities in real safety solutions. We need good jobs, affordable homes, clean water, and reliable electricity. That’s what’s going to make us safer. Instead, our government is sacrificing our rights to big tech companies that care more about their profits, selling our data than about our safety. Our residents don’t want Flock cameras, and we’re making our voices heard loud and clear.”

Tlaib’s press conference was hosted in Inkster, which voted to expand its contract with Flock Safety for at least 10 years and grow the number of license plate readers and other surveillance technologies owned by Flock that will be deployed in the city. 

Inkster’s decision comes as communities around Michigan, especially in metro Detroit, have moved to cancel their contracts with Flock or turn off cameras in their cities — including Madison Heights, Milford, South Lyon, St. Clair Shores, Eastpointe, Lincoln Park and Ferndale.

“Although many cities, including over a dozen in Michigan, have ended their contracts with automatic license plate reader companies, including Flock Safety, or have covered or removed their camera systems, it has become clear that without federal legislation to prevent further nefarious deeds, the abuses of power are likely to continue and grow,” said Tawana Petty, a digital and data justice organizer from Detroit. “Neither Flock Safety nor the agencies that use them have earned our trust; therefore, they should not be afforded it. We do not have to be beholden to self-regulating tech companies who exploit our data to increase their bottom lines, or to agencies that operate without transparency and care.”

One such city that has cut ties with Flock is Westland. At Wednesday’s press conference, Westland City Council President Mike McDermott discussed that decision — and the city’s initial decision to put up Flock cameras in the first place. 

“I made a mistake, and I think our community made a mistake by signing up for a trial contract for two years with the Flock organization. We were told, like so many communities across Michigan and across the country, that Flock is simply an advanced automated license plate reader,” McDermott said. “Tracking our every move and tracking where we go does not keep us safe. We’ve gone through warrantless wiretapping through the Patriot Act, and that was unacceptable, and that was an attack on our civil liberties.”

McDermott also explained that the lack of warrants being used to access data was one of his primary concerns about continuing to contract with Flock in Westland.

“Flock cameras’ only purpose is to surveil all vehicles as they pass underneath them. They are justified as a way to catch bad actors,” said Larry Biggs, a Dearborn resident and community advocate. “However, the fact is that as soon as the information gathered by the cameras is shared with other bodies and other agencies, that information can be used to identify any other people that those agencies want to track or detain.”

On top of the federal legislation introduced by Tlaib, various state legislators in Michigan have introduced legislation seeking to regulate and limit the use of Flock cameras. 

State Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City), whose district includes both Inkster and portions of Westland, emphasized the importance of pushback against Flock on all levels of government — federal, state and local. 

“To me, what this is about, is about choice, right? Do we want a society that believes that people have the right to privacy? And also, what are we going to invest in?” Wegela said. “When I talk to residents in the community, they want us to invest in schools and roads and things that actually help the community rather than mass surveillance technology. We have seen this technology be abused. We’ve seen it used to track people getting out-of-state abortions, track protesters. We’ve seen it be used to stalk individuals, and it is not okay. And we need to be saying that loud.”

Flock representatives around Michigan have emphasized transparency portals, which are published for some cities contracting with Flock, as assuaging some of the concerns raised by residents about the technology. But Tlaib disagreed with that framing, saying that even with transparency measures in place, the information is still being collected.  

“I don’t know if it’s a transparency issue. Is this about being surveilled?” she said. “I know they’re surveilling my residents right now. I just don’t know where that information is going.”