AI Cameras Scan 20 Billion License Plates Monthly—Now Cities Are Fighting Back

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) powered by AI have become a flashpoint in American cities, with residents and officials from Troy, New York, to Oakland, California, pushing back against the technology. Marketed as crime-fighting tools, the systems—led by Flock Safety—now face accusations of enabling mass surveillance of everyday drivers. Critics argue the networks, which record millions of license plates monthly, create a surveillance infrastructure ripe for abuse, while supporters credit them with solving violent crimes and recovering stolen vehicles. The debate escalated in Troy, where a marathon city council meeting saw residents condemn the city’s use of Flock Safety cameras as a violation of privacy. “We should be using what is essentially a mass surveillance technology only for the worst possible crimes,” Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, told attendees. Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based market leader since 2017, claims its cameras perform roughly 20 billion license plate reads each month across more than 6,000 communities. The system doesn’t just capture plates—it identifies vehicle color, make, model, and features like bumper stickers or roof racks. Police can search this data, set alerts for specific vehicles, and in some cases track recent movements. Flock CEO Garrett Langley asserts the technology contributed to about one million arrests last year, with local officials citing its role in solving homicides, robberies, narcotics cases, missing-person investigations, and vehicle thefts. Yet the backlash is growing. In Oakland, police disabled stolen-car alerts due to an overwhelming volume of notifications. Across the U.S., instances of misuse have surfaced, including allegations that officers and others have exploited the system for illegal stalking. Investigations have also revealed unsecured camera units, exposing how easily bad actors could harvest data on specific individuals. While courts have generally upheld the legality of license plate readers under the Fourth Amendment, critics warn that the sheer scale of data collection amounts to mass surveillance. The resistance is gaining momentum. Activists have launched websites like DeFlock to crowdsource camera locations and HaveIBeenFlocked.com to let drivers check if their plates have been scanned. Some cameras have even been vandalized with paint, stickers, or tools. The divide over ALPRs is no longer confined to privacy advocates—it’s now a mainstream debate about the balance between security and civil liberties in the age of AI-driven surveillance.