U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Flock Safety Monday, Oct. 5 requesting information on the use of its automatic license plate reader technology, according to a news release.
“There’s a private company putting cameras on street corners across the country, and it doesn’t just track your license plate,” Schumer said in statement. “It logs where you’ve been in a database police across the country can search, and its software can link your car to your phone number and your family.”
“Americans have no idea who’s looking at that information, or why it has to be collected in the first place. They deserve to know,” he said.
Schumer addressed the questions to Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley. Questions probed Flock’s data collection and retention practices, including whether individual people are tracked; who has access to information in the company’s “National Lookup Tool;” how Flock uses artificial intelligence; and other issues.
Flock did not answer the questions when reached for comment Monday.
“Flock welcomes the opportunity to provide Senator Schumer and other policymakers with additional information about our technology and how it is used by law enforcement agencies across the country,” according to a company statement to The Daily Star. “We are committed to transparency and to providing context about our technology, safeguards, and how agencies use Flock to solve crimes and find missing people.”
“We believe thoughtful conversations about public safety technology are important, and we look forward to continuing to engage with policymakers,” the statement continued.
Flock Public Relations Manager Paris Lewbel directed The Daily Star to a “Media FAQ” link for further questions. The webpage returned a 404 error Monday.
Locally, there is a Flock camera at the sole driveway entrance to the Southside Oneonta Lowe’s. Lowe’s corporate media relations has not returned requests for comment on the camera, including on Monday.
Town Supervisor Will Rivera has proposed a ban on the use of ALPRs altogether in the town, which includes Lowe’s. He said via text message Monday that the town attorney was still working on the legislation.
Rivera dubbed the potential legislation “STALK” via a social media announcement Aug. 20. Rivera said Monday the draft legislation name is “Stopping Technology that Aggregates Location Knowledge.”
Oneonta city police use ALPRs; its fixed-location ALPRs are from Motorola Solutions and patrol vehicle cameras are from Axon. Privacy advocates have expressed concern about the technology’s use nonetheless. The city’s volunteer Community Police Board is expected to discuss the city’s use of ALPRs at its next meeting, the date of which has not been announced.