‘This is not what I signed up for’: Flock cameras raise privacy concerns across West Virginia; The Dominion Post, October 8, 2026

 

EVIE SAFRAN, The Dominion Post; ‘This is not what I signed up for’: Flock cameras raise privacy concerns across West Virginia

"For Monongalia County residents Lathwell and Paige Reiring, concerns over Flock cameras have created an unlikely point of political common ground.

Lathwell identifies as politically conservative, while Reiring is a Mountain Party candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates. Despite their political differences, both question how much information the government should be able to collect about people who have not been accused of a crime.

For Lathwell, the issue comes down to privacy.

"I don't like this at all," she said. "This is not what I signed up for."

Reiring's concerns center on the technology behind the cameras and the amount of data they can collect.

"For me, the issue is the automated aspect of ALPRs, automatic license plate readers, because a lot of these depend on AI-powered software and surveillance systems, which is where we get the harvesting of data," Reiring said.

Their concerns show how the debate surrounding Flock cameras does not fall neatly along traditional political lines. As the technology becomes more common in Monongalia County, residents from different sides of the political spectrum are raising similar questions about privacy, surveillance and the collection of their data.

As artificial intelligence becomes capable of doing tasks once left to people, Flock's automated license plate readers are doing the same for law enforcement - identifying vehicle information and making it searchable for officers.

The technology can speed up investigations. It also means information about ordinary drivers can be collected before they are suspected of a crime."

Flock camera backlash adds fuel to midterm anti-AI frenzy; Axios, August 23, 2026

 

• Andrew Solender, Axios; 

  Flock camera backlash adds fuel to midterm anti-AI frenzy

"Flock cameras are joining data centers as a top midterm boogeyman, with members of Congress and congressional candidates trying to harness a sudden groundswell of grassroots anger over the AI surveillance tool.

Why it matters: This blowup over the country's massive network of license plate readers illustrates how rapidly AI has morphed from a peripheral issue in national politics toward the center of the midterm campaign.

Data centers have become a major issue in the midterms, with candidates racing to one-up each other in their opposition to building the energy-hungry facilities.

Super PACs affiliated with AI companies have also spent tens of millions of dollars clashing with each other in congressional elections over the degree to which the federal government should regulate the technology.

Now, surveillance cameras are opening a new front in the debate over AI.

Driving the news: Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, posted a video to X Wednesday tying his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, to Flock cameras.

"There's been this mass proliferation of Flock cameras, any and everywhere, watching your every move to collect information without you even noticing," El-Sayed says with the '80s tune "Somebody's Watching Me" playing in the background.

El-Sayed accuses Rogers of supporting the practice, citing a 2013 hearing in which the then-House Intelligence Committee chair said: "You can't have your privacy violated if you don't know your privacy is violated, right?"

The Rogers campaign did not respond to a request for comment."

AI license plate cameras tore this town apart and led to a state of emergency; The Washington Post, May 17, 2026

Annie Gowen, The Washington Post; AI license plate cameras tore this town apart and led to a state of emergency

"The cameras at the heart of the debate are run by Flock Safety, a technology company that has built a network of automatic license plate readers in more than 6,000 communities across the country in recent years. 

Flock’s system uses AI-enabled cameras to snap photos of every vehicle that passes, creating a digital “fingerprint” that includes data as personal as bumper stickers or gun racks.

Flock cameras are beloved by police because officers can use the company’s national database to track vehicle movements to recover drugs and stolen automobiles, and to solve even more serious crimes. A company spokesman said in a statement that the devices support “communities across the country in addressing crime and locating missing people.”...

Yet the company’s rapid expansion has given rise to citizen concerns about intrusive surveillance, worries that have intensified amid reports that federal immigration enforcement officials used the system to target immigrants."