Flock Exposed - Legislative Pushback and Bans
Flock likes to present itself as an inevitability - a technology every town will eventually adopt. That's not what's actually happening. Across the country, towns, cities, counties, and now entire states are canceling contracts, ripping out cameras, and passing laws to rein Flock in. This page tracks that pushback.
The Scale of the Backlash
A total of 201 local communities have canceled or not renewed ALPR contracts since the start of 2025, according to the Institute for Justice's cancellation list.
Source: The Daily Caller
Newsweek, mapping decisions compiled by researchers, found cities and towns that have suspended, canceled, or deactivated Flock license plate readers in 2026 alone, with California and Wisconsin leading at seven apiece, while DeFlock's broader tally at that point counted 47 jurisdictions.
Source: Finding Flock, citing Newsweek and DeFlock
A separate Newsweek map found 149 cities pushing back against Flock cameras, ranging from major population centers such as Los Angeles, California, and Lansing, Michigan, to smaller towns and counties in states including Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin, Washington, Massachusetts, and Colorado.
Source: Newsweek
A sourced tracker of U.S. cities and towns that have banned, removed, or ended their Flock Safety camera programs counts 17 communities across 11 states and counting.
Source: Ban Flock Cameras tracker
In September 2026, the Tallahassee City Commission in Florida voted unanimously to immediately suspend its contracts with both Flock and Motorola and to remove its ALPR cameras.
Source: American Civil Liberties Union, "Get The Flock Out" campaign timeline
Evanston, Illinois: A Case Study in Why Towns Are Pulling Out
In August 2025, Evanston ordered Flock Safety to remove 19 ALPR cameras after an audit by the Illinois Secretary of State found that federal agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, were accessing the data. The city terminated its nearly 200,000 dollar contract.
Source: Flock Alert App
The state audit, ordered by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, found that Flock did not have proper safeguards in place for data sharing, compounded by the fact that the company was running a pilot program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Source: Illinois Secretary of State's office
Evanston characterized the breach as an "intentional and unauthorized disclosure of protected data" that is "material, intentional, and cannot be cured."
Source: Stop Flock Safety, citing City of Evanston
Following the state audit's findings, Giannoulias ordered Flock to cut off CBP access immediately, and Flock then paused its federal pilot nationwide; the state found dozens of agencies had to be stripped of access, out of roughly 90 Illinois police departments using Flock by EFF's count.
Source: Flip the Flock
During the 30-day period between Evanston's termination notice and its effective date, cameras were removed and the city said it halted data collection and sharing - but residents then began to notice the cameras had returned, leading to renewed termination talks and a cease-and-desist order from the city.
Source: Daily Northwestern
State-Level Action: Florida
Florida banned local police from installing license-plate readers on state roads, responding to growing concern about the proliferation of surveillance cameras made by Flock Safety and other companies.
Source: Bloomberg
Florida's state transportation office revoked the ability of local police to put license plate readers on state highways, as a nationwide backlash continued to gain steam against Flock Safety and other makers of surveillance cameras.
Source: NBC News
State-Level Action: Washington
Washington's SB 6002 cuts ALPR data retention to 21 days and bars immigration use, making it one of the strictest state ALPR laws yet, with changes taking effect March 30, 2026.
Source: Flock Safety's own blog
Under the law, ALPR use is prohibited for immigration investigation or enforcement, tracking constitutionally protected activities such as free speech, or collecting data near protected health care or immigration facilities; ALPR use is also prohibited on the premises or immediate surrounding areas of schools, places of worship, and courts.
Source: Washington State Senate Bill Report, SB 6002
An agency may not disclose, share, or permit access to ALPR data except in judicial proceedings, and no direct access may be shared except with other authorized state or local agencies or third-party vendors providing ALPR services.
Source: Washington State Senate Bill Report, ESSB 6002
The bill passed the Senate 40 to 9 and bans ICE access to license plate reader data outright, on top of its 21-day retention limit and its prohibition on ALPRs near schools and churches.
Source: State of Surveillance
Logs of ALPR access must be maintained for five years, and ALPR data obtained in knowing violation of the law is inadmissible in court, except by a person bringing a lawsuit for damages for the violation itself.
Source: Washington State Senate Bill Report, ESSB 6002 as amended by House
State-Level Action: Missouri
Missouri Governor Kehoe issued Executive Order 26-18, directing the Missouri Department of Public Safety to implement data privacy protections for state agencies and state-funded local law enforcement using automated license plate reader systems such as Flock Safety cameras.
Source: KY3
State-Level Action: Pennsylvania
A bipartisan backlash against Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers has been mounting in Pennsylvania, with lawmakers introducing bans and restrictions and both candidates for governor coming out against them.
Source: Spotlight PA
State-Level Action: Indiana
Indiana lawmakers began examining license plate cameras in August 2026 amid growing privacy concerns, with several lawmakers reported to be filing bills to set guardrails on their use after the legislature declined to act two years earlier.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle, August 24 and August 28, 2026; WTHR
The pressure in Indiana is not coming only from privacy advocates. The Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement calling on state lawmakers to establish standards so the technology is not misused - a police union asking for limits on a police tool.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle, "Indiana lawmakers looking at license plate cameras amid growing privacy worries," August 24, 2026
Proposed Indiana standards under discussion include transparency requirements, audit requirements, a ban on commercial sharing or selling of license plate data, and criminal and civil penalties for anyone who misuses it.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle, August 24, 2026
Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith has said he has been talking with state lawmakers about legislation to place new limits on how law enforcement agencies use Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers, describing the issue in terms of mass surveillance.
Source: The Indiana Citizen, "'MASS SURVEILLANCE': Beckwith says he wants Indiana lawmakers to limit police use of Flock cameras"
In rural Lawrence County, Indiana, a petition to ban automated license plate readers gathered 500 signatures in four days.
Source: WTHR, "Indiana lawmakers looking at license plate cameras amid growing privacy worries"
An Indiana Congressman Says the Cameras Should Be Eliminated
United States Representative Marlin Stutzman, a Republican representing Indiana's Third District, confirmed in September 2026 that he is working on federal legislation to rein in the cameras, arguing that the network of automated license plate readers constitutes unconstitutional government surveillance. His words on the subject were blunt: "We don't want to be Russia."
Source: 21Alive News, September 16, 2026, "'We don't want to be Russia': Rep. Stutzman says Flock cameras should be eliminated"
Stutzman's interest in the issue came from personal experience with the system. He said he planned to introduce a bill restricting Flock cameras after one of the cameras flagged his own vehicle for an expired registration, and an officer then tracked and followed him to his private residence.
Source: The Daily Caller, August 27, 2026, "Lawmakers Introducing Flock Bills Left And Right: What Would Each Do?"
Federal Action: The No FLOCK Act
Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, and Michael Cloud, a Texas Republican, unveiled the bipartisan No FLOCK Act - short for the No Federal License-Plate Observation and Camera Keeping Act.
Source: Hoodline, citing Krishnamoorthi's office
Under the legislation, states would be required to enact laws limiting automated license plate readers to specific public safety and toll-enforcement purposes; Representative Cloud said the goal is to protect public safety without sacrificing the privacy of Americans.
Source: Representative Krishnamoorthi's office
Federal Action: Cutting Off the Funding
A separate federal measure introduced by Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky takes a funding approach rather than a ban. Massie told WHAS11 that the measure would not ban Flock cameras outright, but would prevent local governments from using federal funding to buy or operate them. Its cosponsors span both parties, including Representatives Paul Gosar of Arizona, Ro Khanna of California, Chip Roy of Texas, and Victoria Spartz of Indiana.
Source: Newsweek, "Flock Cameras Face Removal Nationwide Under New Bill"; WHAS11 via Yahoo News
Virginia: A Wave of County-Level Suspensions
In Virginia, Amherst and Bedford counties suspended their systems until further notice; Appomattox County declined to renew its contract; Campbell and Giles counties terminated theirs; and Charlotte and Halifax counties temporarily paused use of the cameras.
Source: Newsweek
El Cerrito, California
In May 2026, the El Cerrito City Council in California voted not to renew its contract with Flock, a decision that meant the city's cameras were ultimately switched off on June 7, 2026.
Source: Newsweek
A Word of Caution: Switching Vendors Isn't the Same as Rejecting Surveillance
Some cities that ditch Flock Safety cameras are turning around and hiring Axon to do the same job - the pitch to cities is deliberate: similar capability, tighter contract terms, and seamless integration with existing body cams and the Evidence.com cloud platform. Denver is cited as the clearest documented case of this pattern.
Source: Yahoo News
Flock is just one popular brand of license plate reader - even as cities cancel their contracts with Flock, some have pivoted to other license plate providers like Axon, which is why advocacy groups emphasize pushing back on all forms of automated license plate reader surveillance, not just one company's brand of it.
Source: Fight for the Future
Questions to Ask Your Town
Is our state currently considering ALPR legislation, and would our existing contract comply with it if it passed tomorrow?
Are any federal dollars paying for our cameras, and what happens to the program if that funding is restricted?
If we ever decide to end our contract, what does our agreement require of us, and have we read those terms recently?
This page will be updated as more factual sources become available.