State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) thinks the Legislature will bring up the issue of Flock cameras in the next session, and admits there’s a slim possibility that an outright ban on them could be passed.
The license plate reader cameras have received new scrutiny across the country in recent weeks following several cases of law enforcement abusing the technology. Some state lawmakers have already called for them to be banned, while others have suggested that new guardrails need to be put in place so they can continue to be used.
Orr was able to pass a bill that put some restrictions on license plate reader (LPR) cameras in 2021, but doesn’t think it went far enough in protecting the rights of Alabamians. He now believes more needs to be done on the state level.
The lawmaker told ABC 33/40 News that there are basically three options: Keep the current system in place, ban them completely, or add some new restrictions that will properly regulate their use.
“The second would be that we completely ban them,” Orr said. “We say no Flock cameras are allowed anywhere, anyhow, any city, any county, any state road, they’re banned.”
Orr said the mostly likely outcome will be passing some new guardrails to prevent abuse from officials.
“We’ve got to draw some real hard lines and guardrails and regulations around these Flock cameras to govern their usage, privacy impacts and law enforcement usage thereof,” he explained. “There would be severe penalties for misusage, abuse of the system for personal use or for things that didn’t have a warrant standing behind it.”
Flock’s license plate readers capture images of vehicles traveling on public roads and record information such as license plate numbers, vehicle make, model, color, location and the date and time a vehicle passes a camera. Unlike facial-recognition systems, Flock says its license plate readers identify vehicles rather than people and do not collect biometric information.
“Fundamentally, it’s a question about liberties and freedom and security,” Orr said. “How much security, protection from criminals, catching criminals, et cetera. How much of that do we want that may come at the expense of our freedoms with the potential for government abuse snooping on us, knowing our whereabouts as we drive around in our vehicles?”
“Are we perhaps losing our freedoms and liberties bit by bit by bit as the government gets more power to know our whereabouts and what we’re up to as Americans?” He added.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
