Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is calling four CEOs to testify next week over the privacy risks of AI-powered cameras used by local police departments. The subcommittee chairman named Garrett Langley of Flock Safety, Rick Smith of Axon Enterprise Inc., Greg Brown of Motorola Solutions and Filip Kaliszan of Verkada for the Sept. 23 hearing titled “Always Watching: Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network.”
Hawley’s warning is blunt. “Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church,” he said. “I’m investigating these companies to determine WHO has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data – and what they’re doing with it.”
About 120,000 Flock Safety cameras are operating in the U.S. across every state except Alaska. They use AI to track and identify vehicles and license plates for local law enforcement use.
Who Is Being Called
| CEO | Company |
|---|---|
| Garrett Langley | Flock Safety |
| Rick Smith | Axon Enterprise Inc. |
| Greg Brown | Motorola Solutions |
| Filip Kaliszan | Verkada |
The Political Fight
President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday he backs Flock Safety cameras “because of law enforcement” and the aid AI-powered cameras provide to police and local law enforcement.
Two Republican governors have moved against the company. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the removal of all license plate reader cameras from Florida state roads. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all state agencies to stop spending state money on Flock Safety cameras.
The Far-Left Campaign
Several far-left organizations tied to a network funded by Shanghai-based tech businessman Neville Roy Singham have organized local opposition to Flock Safety cameras. That includes:
- The Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Denver chapter, which teamed up with Indivisible and the Sunrise Movement in May for a public forum on data centers and mass surveillance.
- The Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Tucson chapter, which joined “deFLOCK Tucson” and the “No Desert Data Center Coalition” on July 25 for a gathering called “It’s ALL Connected” at the Global Justice Center on E. 26th Street.
What the Cameras Do
Flock Safety cameras use AI to track and identify vehicles and license plates for local law enforcement use. Critics worry the cameras create a permanent record of Americans’ movements that could be abused.
The Hearing’s Stakes
Hawley’s questions are narrow but pointed. He wants to know who can access the data and what they do with it.
The hearing also draws in a far-left campaign against data centers tied to a Chinese businessman.
What Happens Next
The hearing will test whether lawmakers can set rules for who gets access to the data.
Hawley’s warning is worth taking seriously. Americans should not lose their privacy rights on the way to work.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the citizens and local groups pushing back against the surveillance vendors and is against the vendors themselves, who are lobbying to keep the camera networks and data dragnets in place. The paper is against mass tracking of ordinary people by governments or by the companies that sell to them, and it is against the camera networks and data dragnets that make that tracking possible.
This hearing is about the vendors themselves, the companies that make the cameras and sell them to local police departments, and the paper’s position puts it plainly: these vendors should not be allowed to build a national surveillance network without clear limits on who can see the data and what they can do with it.
The paper wants narrow oversight aimed at the actual harm, not a broad new rulebook that raises the cost of entry for small businesses and leaves the biggest players alone. It wants the citizens and local groups pushing back to be heard, not drowned out by the lobbying of the vendors.
Source material: “Flock CEO, tech rivals called to testify before senators over AI camera privacy concerns,” Fox News.
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