Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., announced he is co-leading Rep. Thomas Massie’s bill to cut off federal funding for automated license plate reader networks like Flock Safety’s, citing documented cases of officers misusing the cameras to track women. Khanna’s post, which included a video statement, was published on X.
Khanna: “Being Used to Abuse and Stalk Women Across America”
“I’m proud to co-lead Thomas Massie’s bill to ban federal funding for Flock cameras. We need to impose strict regulations on this technology that’s being used to abuse and stalk women across America,” Khanna wrote. In the accompanying video, he added: “Flock cameras are being abused. They’re being abused by officers who are using them to surveil their girlfriends or their exes. This bill would prevent federal funding from going to the use of flock cameras.”
Bill Formally Introduced as H.R. 10221 on Sept. 2
Massie introduced the Flock-Off Act, formally titled “to prohibit the use of Federal funds for covered camera systems and associated components,” in the House on Sept. 2. The bill was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and had six original cosponsors: Khanna, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.
Bill Would Cut Off Funding for Both License Plate and Biometric Cameras
According to the bill’s text, it broadly defines “covered camera systems” to include fixed, mobile or portable devices that automatically capture and process vehicle or license plate images, as well as systems that capture biometric data such as facial images, fingerprints, iris scans, voiceprints or gait patterns. The prohibition would extend beyond federal agencies to any state, local or tribal government or other recipient of federal funds, barring use of that money to purchase, lease, install, maintain, repair, upgrade or operate the covered systems, including related contracts, data-sharing agreements and cloud storage services.
Federal Agencies Would Have 180 Days to Remove Existing Systems
Federal agencies would be required to decommission and remove any covered camera system purchased in whole or in part with federal funds within 180 days of the law’s enactment, according to a summary of the bill’s provisions. State, local and tribal recipients of federal funds would similarly have to stop operating any federally funded systems and end related agreements; agencies that continued providing funds despite a violation would be required to withhold further funding until repayment.
Bill Includes Carve-Out for Border Enforcement
The legislation exempts camera systems within one mile of the northern or southern border that are owned or operated by Customs and Border Protection or another law enforcement agency, according to a summary of the bill from Quiver Quantitative, which tracks congressional legislation.
Massie Says Federal Government Should Not Fund “the Surveillance State”
In a press release from his House office, Massie said the bill “withholds federal money from municipalities and police departments that deploy Flock cameras to surveil law-abiding citizens” and that “federal taxpayers should not be forced to fund the surveillance state.” Massie separately told Spectrum News the bill “doesn’t ban Flock cameras” outright but ensures “the federal government is not going to pay for your Flock cameras if you want them.”
Flock Says Cutting Funding Would Have “Real Consequences for Public Safety”
A Flock spokesperson told The Hill that “withholding federal funding from the thousands of police departments that rely on license plate reader technology would have real consequences for public safety,” adding that “rather than banning a critical public safety tool, Congress should consider strong, clear safeguards that ensure accountability, oversight, and responsible use are enshrined in law.” In response to Hawley’s investigation, the company has said its cameras have aided roughly 1 million police investigations and helped locate about 10,000 missing people, and said it has been “listening to customers, communities, and civil liberties groups” as it works to improve privacy safeguards.
Bill Is One of Several Recent Congressional Efforts Targeting the Technology
The Flock-Off Act is the third bill introduced in Congress within roughly six weeks aimed at restricting license-plate-reader technology, following Rep. Tim Burchett’s Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act and a warrant-requirement bill from Boebert and Massie introduced in April. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, separately opened a formal investigation into Flock on Aug. 26, writing in an official letter posted on his Senate website that the company has “assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network” of more than 120,000 cameras conducting more than 20 billion vehicle scans monthly, and that “Congress never authorized the network your industry has built.” Hawley asked Flock CEO Garrett Langley to provide documents and information by Sept. 8, and later expanded the inquiry to competitors Axon and Motorola Solutions.
More Than 100 Documented Misuse Cases Have Been Identified Nationwide
The Institute for Justice’s public database of automated license plate reader abuse has cataloged more than 140 documented incidents nationally, including officers using the systems to track former partners, a pattern that gained renewed attention after an Indiana sheriff’s deputy was criminally charged in September for allegedly searching his girlfriend’s license plate more than 2,000 times.
Nearly 150 Local Governments Have Already Canceled Flock Contracts
Separately from the congressional effort, Newsweek has tracked at least 149 cities, counties and other local governments that have canceled Flock contracts, rejected proposed deployments or deactivated existing camera systems amid the broader national debate over privacy and police oversight.
Khanna Has Previously Called for Broader Restrictions on Federal Data Access
Khanna’s cosponsorship follows earlier public statements in which he called for Congress to “ban federal funding for Flock cameras” and separately proposed restricting data centers in residential communities, framing both as part of a broader concern about unchecked government and corporate data collection.