Flock Cameras = FBI Cameras?

If your neighborhood has Flock Safety cameras mounted at intersections in your city, the FBI may soon be watching every vehicle that passes through, in near real time, without a warrant.

On May 14, 2026, the FBI posted a formal request for nationwide access to commercial license plate reader networks, such as Flock. The bureau wants to spend up to $36 million over five years to gain the ability to query plate data “in near real time” from cameras across the United States. The contract would serve the FBI’s “Directorate of Intelligence.”

With these capabilities, FBI agents would be able to search by partial or full plate numbers, vehicle make and model, scan location, and address. The system must deliver results within minutes of a scan including alerts and maps showing exactly which cameras cover which corridors.

Flock Safety, the dominant vendor with cameras installed in more than 12,000 communities (including South Lake Minnetonka cities) totaling over 90,000 cameras nationally, has publicly insisted that local agencies control their own data and that “there is no backdoor into Flock.” A recent study by the University of Washington Center for Human Rights shows differently. Flock says data sharing with federal agencies is disabled by default and must be explicitly opted into by local authorities. Warning! Read the fine print.

Last year, Flock ran a pilot program giving access to Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The company confirmed this only after Sen. Ron Wyden’s office pressed them. Investigative reporters at 404 Media documented how local police were running Flock searches on behalf of ICE by giving federal law enforcement side-door access without a formal contract. The side door was wide open.

When the government purchases access to a commercial database, it avoids the warrant requirement that would otherwise apply. The FBI is expecting to plug into the cameras and convert them into a federal intelligence network without approval from local governments.

California and Virginia are pushing back. Both states have passed laws restricting the sharing of plate data with federal agencies. But the Electronic Frontier Foundation reported that dozens of California agencies violated that restriction anyway. Local governments have repeatedly shown they lack the will or awareness to enforce the laws.

The situation can be easily solved: Remove the cameras. If Flock cameras are not in your neighborhood, there is no data to collect or network to plug into. If the device is present, it becomes a potential portal to a nationwide surveillance grid. The FBI’s $36 million contract becomes worthless in communities that simply say “NO” to the cameras.

This is the time to be heard at a council meeting (June 8 for Shorewood). Make phone calls, send emails.

Let your city council know exactly how you feel about potentially being surveilled by the FBI! If you don’t get a straight answer, you have your answer.

Sources:
Flock Camera in the Bag
404 Media-Local Pollce Give Access to Ice
Ars Technica
University of Washington Center for Human Rights