OPINION:
Straight out of George Orwell’s “1984,” artificial intelligence is increasingly being deployed to monitor Americans.
As we speak, hundreds of millions of license plates in the United States are being tracked by something called “Flock,” and most people do not even know it.
Used by law enforcement agencies and municipalities across America, Flock cameras are advanced automated license plate readers that track vehicle movements and detect human activity.
Available to more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies, Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers scan license plates and upload the data to a shared nationwide database. They even identify unique vehicle features, such as minor dents or campaign bumper stickers, and catalog everything in one place.
Flock’s proponents may claim the cameras are used primarily to prevent criminal activity, but they go far beyond public safety. Many Flock cameras feature streaming capabilities and artificial intelligence tracking tools that can follow human movement — all human movement — in real time.
Flock’s “Condor” camera is an AI-enhanced pan-tilt-zoom camera for active surveillance, autonomously following a person or vehicle rather than simply surveilling a general area. Condor cameras have been caught broadcasting both live and archived footage directly to the open internet. No passwords or login credentials are required to access the footage.
AI surveillance is spreading, leaving us all at risk of government overreach. This month in Georgia, five police officers were charged with using Flock cameras for personal searches, violating the oath of office. In Wisconsin, also this month, two police officers were charged with weaponizing Flock cameras for stalking purposes.
In June, Flock cameras wrongly tracked a journalist for days over “stolen” plates — because of a data error originating in California — and sent four police cars to intercept him in Minnesota, despite no crime ever being committed.
From my home state of Maine to rural Texas, Flock cameras and other AI technologies keep U.S. citizens under constant surveillance, with no reprieve. In 2024, in my hometown of Houlton, Maine, non-police town employees gave out more than 30 login passwords, and unidentified users accessed Verkada’s system at least twice.
Some of the surveillance is downright shocking. According to the Institute for Justice, police officers have repeatedly used automated license plate reader camera networks to keep tabs on their romantic interests, including current partners, exes and even strangers who unwittingly caught their eye in public. There are at least 21 such cases and likely many more that remain undiscovered.
This is a bipartisan concern, and most Americans are rightly concerned. Three-quarters of American voters now support limits on AI surveillance, opposing the indiscriminate monitoring of civilians that we see today.
They are worried because AI is clearly making it easier for the federal, state and local governments to violate our constitutional rights. As the American Civil Liberties Union puts it, Flock has created a “dangerous nationwide mass-surveillance infrastructure” that tracks U.S. citizens without a warrant, “expand[ing] beyond the uses for which it is initially justified.”
The numbers do not lie. About 100,000 Flock cameras have been installed in urban and rural areas across America, and more installations, as well as drone deployments, are planned.
Yet less than 1% of cars scanned by automated license plate readers are connected to any crime or wrongdoing. This has nothing to do with safety.
From liberal Americans skeptical of Trump-era government overreach to constitutionalist libertarians and conservatives, we should all push back against AI’s mass monitoring without a warrant. It is a consensus issue.
More people are starting to speak out. Maine lawmaker David Boyer has introduced legislation to ban Flock license plate readers and reaffirm constitutional rights in the state. Some U.S. cities are ditching automated license plate readers because of privacy concerns, as voters are telling their elected officials to stop crossing the line.
For the Constitution to withstand an unprecedented AI test, we must raise our voices. Our elected officials have to feel the heat. It is time to put Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers in the dustbin of history.
The government has gone too far yet again, but there is still a chance to correct course. The time is now.
• Dylan Oliver is the social media manager at The Alliance for Secure AI.
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