Good. This proposed act seems to ban all flock-style camera systems, not just the brand name. This should be a slam dunk for anyone who cares about privacy.
While it’s kind of a ban, to be extremely clear, this is not a direct ban!
This would prohibit federal agencies from using ALPRs or accessing data from them, and it would block federal funding for ALPR systems, but locally-funded systems would still be allowed:
https://www.gadgetreview.com/bernie-sanders-aoc-and-jeff-merkley-just-introduced-the-ban-flock-act
So what it does is cut federal grants to cities/towns that still use them, meaning the impact is a lot larger than just no money for cameras. It could seriously cut infrastructure and healthcare funds, and anything else the federal government funds. I do agree this is not a perfect solution, but it’s absolutely a step in the right direction, and I’d rather get something on the books to slow the adoption while the perfect solution is in the works. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
As Benn Jordan has already pointed out to Congress directly, this isn’t just a Flock problem. It’s a problem with a complete lack of basic cybersecurity protocols for these devices.
If we ban just Flock, then the problem will migrate to other companies.
Just Flock, or even just traffic cameras? Is this even a start? How about banning warrantless border phone searches? How about recognizing that privacy is a right? The California constitution (and maybe other states) already does that, and it seems to help to some extent, despite the presence of Flock cameras here.
It’s just a block on Automatic License Plate Readers.
Some company will claim they are just recording descriptions of a license plate next and skirts around whatever law might happen (even if this has a near zero chance of happening.)
