Two bills introduced in Congress over three days mark how the bipartisan backlash to AI-powered automatic licence plate recognition (ALPR) cameras has reached a tipping point, putting Flock and the wider ALPR industry under political pressure. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced the Stop Flock Abuse Act, while Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a broader bill that would block the federal government from using ALPR cameras, cut federal funding to states that deploy them, and create a private right of action for Americans whose rights are violated by ALPR deployment. Both bills would apply to all ALPR vendors, including Motorola and Axon, not just Flock — answering long-standing complaints that public uproar concentrated on Flock left near-identical competitors off the hook. The push follows researcher Joshua Michael's 23 September surveillance map claiming about 300,000 Flock-connected devices and more than 170,000 Flock cameras in use — against Flock's consistently stated figure of 120,000 cameras — which Hawley cited at a hearing featuring a woman jailed for 13 days over a false Flock match. Observers believe ALPR legislation has a real chance of succeeding.

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