What happened
On 2 October 2026, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced the Ban Flock Act, which would prohibit all federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs), pause federal grant funding to state and local governments holding ALPR contracts, and create a private right of action enabling Americans to sue the federal government for unlawful ALPR use. The bill responds to reporting that 50+ officers were charged with or accused of misusing Flock and other surveillance systems.
Why it matters
The most aggressive of several in-window congressional measures targeting AI-enabled ALPR/surveillance ('AI oligarchs' framing), billed as requiring an act of Congress to lift the federal ban. Would materially affect the ~120,000-camera Flock network and the broader ALPR industry's federal and state/local funding flows if enacted, and signals the AI-surveillance legislative front running parallel to frontier-model bills before the midterms.
Action needed
ALPR vendors and state/local agencies receiving federal funding should monitor this as proposed law; the funding-pause and private-cause-of-action provisions would be high-impact for government ALPR programs if the bill moves.