Sean Moran, DCNF
Republican Texas Rep. Keith Self on Wednesday proposed legislation would protect Americans’ privacy when federal law enforcement agencies seek surveillance data from Flock Safety, the Daily Caller News Foundation learned exclusively.
The Texas conservative introduced the Protecting Rights in Video and Equipment Acquired Discovery (PRIVACY) Act, which would require federal law enforcement to obtain a warrant before accessing or querying surveillance data collected by state and local systems, including automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and other technologies. Self introduced the legislation as state and localities have canceled or suspended contracts with Flock, citing surveillance and privacy concerns.
This also comes after some Americans have destroyed Flock cameras, creating a viral internet trend.
“Americans have a constitutional right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, and our government is supposed to get a warrant before invading that privacy. This bill simply restores that protection. Get a warrant,” the congressman continued.
“Flock strongly supports” legislation that would establish guardrails on License Plate Reader (LPR) use, a spokesperson told the DCNF, adding that LPR frameworks should uphold law enforcement’s ability protect public safety.
“We believe public safety, privacy, and Fourth Amendment rights can and must coexist. More 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,” the spokesperson added. “We welcome these conversations in Congress because we believe public safety technologies are powerful tools best used in concert with strong policy, accountability, and oversight mechanisms.”
Self’s PRIVACY Act aims to better protect Americans’ privacy by devising a list of intrusive technologies and mandate that federal law enforcement obtain a warrant before obtaining or searching data from state and local surveillance systems. His legislation would also limit retention of data obtain under a warrant to 30 days, unless the data obtained serves as evidence for prosecution or a court grants a temporary extension. The PRIVACY Act would also bar the use of federal funds to purchase or install these surveillance systems.
Republican Arizona Rep. Eli Crane serves as an original cosponsor to the legislation.
“For decades, Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights have been desecrated as government entities adopt increasingly intrusive surveillance technologies,” Crane told the DCNF.
“State and local systems now collect vast amounts of data, and federal agencies use that information to bypass warrant requirements and core privacy protections,” the Arizona Republican explained. “To counter these Orwellian tendencies, I’m proud to join Representative Self as an original cosponsor of the PRIVACY Act. This legislation closes these loopholes, limits retention of unrelated data, and restores the constitutional protections owed to every American.”
Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde also cosponsored the bill.
“As the mass surveillance state has drastically expanded and evolved, so too have threats and violations of Americans’ constitutional liberties — often in the name of improving public safety. Yet the American people’s Fourth Amendment rights have not changed and are not a suggestion; they are law,” Clyde told the DNCF in a statement.
“The PRIVACY Act provides critical protections to combat the federal government’s dangerous web of warrantless surveillance and data collection, including by devices like Flock cameras. I’m proud to support Rep. Self’s legislation, and I remain committed to restoring Americans’ Fourth Amendment freedoms amidst the rise of intrusive technologies,” he stated.
Flock cameras allow law enforcement to track and monitor the movement of people and vehicles traveling across communities. State and local communities use Flock cameras to combat crime, although critics argue that this camera systems create a virtual surveillance state.
Flock states that it helps more than 6,000 communities to help fight crime and human trafficking.
James Czerniawski, the head of emerging technology policy for the Consumer Choice Center, told the DCNF in a statement that he is “glad to see Representative Self continue to fight for the civil liberties of Americans.”
“He [Self] correctly understands that the public is being presented with a false choice between safety and privacy. Americans should never have to sacrifice their civil liberties to keep their communities safe,” Czerniawski added. “True security is built on trust between the public and law enforcement, and a simple way to build that trust is by placing guardrails on how agencies leverage technology. Representative Self is rightly identifying the need for strong constitutional guardrails to protect everyday Americans from warrantless surveillance.”
“State and local systems now collect vast amounts of data, and federal agencies use that information to bypass warrant requirements and core privacy protections,” Crane explained. “To counter these Orwellian tendencies, I’m proud to join Representative Self as an original cosponsor of the PRIVACY Act. This legislation closes these loopholes, limits retention of unrelated data, and restores the constitutional protections owed to every American.”
Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert previously told the DCNF that the Flock camera systems infringe upon American civil liberties.
“They violate our Fourth Amendment rights to privacy and unreasonable search and seizure, and they are an absolute impediment of our constitutional rights,” she said.
There are roughly 80,000 to 100,000 Flock cameras installed in both rural and urban settings, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated, as of July 10. The ACLU added that less than one percent of cars scanned by ALPRs are connected to any crime or wrongdoing, and one-in-ten license plates scanned by Flock license plate readers misread the state.
Flock Safety in January explained that, by default, sharing with federal agencies is disabled. The company also states that any access to customer data by a federal agency, it it occurs, must be granted explicitly by a local customer and must comply with federal law.
“This approach demonstrates how technology can support safer, fairer outcomes while aligning with the lived realities and priorities of Communities of Color,” Oakland National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President Cynthia Adams stated.
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