For decades, urban planning in the United States has been dominated by the automobile.
Few would have predicted that they would one day also function as monitoring nodes.
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These camera-based systems capture license plate data of passing vehicles, along with vehicle images and timestamps. These days, these systems use artificial intelligence to create vast searchable databases that can be integrated with other law enforcement agencies’ data repositories.
As a scholar of technology policy and data governance, I see the expansion of automatic license plate readers as a source of deep concern. The development comes as government officials are looking for ways to target immigrants and transgender communities, are already using AI to monitor protests, and are considering deploying AI systems for mass surveillance.
look to the road
The use of cameras to track number plates dates back to the 1970s, when Britain was embroiled in a long-smoldering conflict with the Irish Republican Army.
London’s police force, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has developed a system that uses closed-circuit television cameras to monitor and record the number plates of vehicles entering and exiting major roads.
This system and its successors were seen as useful tools for fighting crime. Over the next two decades, they expanded to other cities in the UK and around the world. In 1998, U.S. Customs and Border Protection introduced this technology. In the 21st century, they began to appear in cities across America.
There are various ways for jurisdictions to implement these systems, but local governments typically contract with private companies to provide the hardware and services.
These companies often lure authorities with promises of free trials of surveillance equipment or unfettered access to their data in ways that circumvent local surveillance laws.
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Introducing AI
Recently, AI has been incorporated into these camera systems, greatly expanding their range.
The collected vehicle information is typically stored in the cloud, creating a large web of data repositories. If a camera collects information from a suspect’s car or truck (for example, one that is also registered with the National Crime Information Center), AI can flag it and send an immediate alert to local law enforcement.
In fact, this is a selling point for Flock Safety, one of the largest providers of automatic license plate readers. The company uses infrared cameras to take images of vehicles. AI then analyzes the data to identify the target and quickly alert local authorities.
On the surface, automatic license plate readers seem like a logical way to fight crime. Further information regarding the suspect’s whereabouts may be helpful to law enforcement. If you’re following the law, why worry about cameras?
However, there is little peer-reviewed research on its effectiveness. While existing ones appear to be helpful in solving some crimes, such as auto theft, we have found little evidence that they have led to reductions in violent crime rates.
Additionally, they are expensive to install and maintain.
Johnson City, Tennessee, for example, signed Flock to a 10-year, $8 million contract in 2025. Richmond, Virginia, paid the company more than $1 million from October 2024 to November 2025 and recently extended its contract despite opposition from some residents.
The Conversation reached out to Flock for comment, but he did not respond.
Visible violations of civil liberties
The technology appears to highlight the pitfalls of what scholars call “technological solutionism,” which claims that complex problems such as crime, poverty, and climate change can be solved through technology.
Even more disturbing to me is the fact that these camera systems have created a massive location tracking infrastructure woven by artificial intelligence.
The United States does not have federal laws like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation that meaningfully limit the collection, retention, sale, and sharing of location and mobility data.
As a result, data collected through U.S. surveillance infrastructure can be circulated with limited transparency and accountability.
License plate readers can be easily accessed and reused beyond their original purpose of controlling traffic, paying fines, and apprehending fugitives. All that is needed to move these cameras out of sight is a shift in enforcement priorities or a new definition of what constitutes a crime.
Civil liberties and digital rights groups have been sounding the alarm about these cameras for more than a decade.
In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union released a report titled “You’re Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Used to Record Americans’ Movements.” And the Electronic Frontier Foundation decries them as “street-level surveillance.”
Movement of counter camera appears
The promise of these cameras is simple: more data and less crime.
But what followed was more uncertain, with more data and much more power over the people.
Without strong legal safeguards, this data could be used to target political opponents, facilitate discriminatory policing, or chill constitutionally protected activities.
This is already happening with the current administration’s aggressive deportation efforts. The automatic license plate reading database was shared with federal immigration authorities to monitor immigrant communities. Customs and Border Protection was recently granted access to more than 80,000 Flock cameras, which are also being used to monitor protests.
DeFlock’s Flock camera map shows that Beverly Hills is indeed committed to Santa Monica Boulevard, and Santa Monica Boulevard alone. Seems redundant? deflock.org/map
— @lemonodor.bsky.social (@lemonodor.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-03-27T20:03:38.116Z
And then there’s reproductive health care. After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022, concerns arose that people traveling across state lines to obtain abortions could be identified through automated license plate reading databases. In Texas, authorities accessed Flock’s surveillance data in 2025 as part of an abortion investigation.
Flock told NPR in February 2026 that cities control how this information is shared, adding, “Each Flock customer has sole authority over whether, when, and with whom to share their information.” The company said it has worked to “enhance shared management, monitoring and auditing capabilities within the system.” But NPR also reported that many city officials across the country don’t realize how widely their data is being shared.
In response, some states are attempting to regulate this technology.
The Washington State Legislature is considering a driver privacy law. The bill would prohibit government agencies from using surveillance technology to investigate or police people entering the country, or from collecting data around certain medical facilities. Protests will also be protected from surveillance.
Meanwhile, grassroots efforts such as DeFlock are emerging.
DeFlock’s online platform documents the proliferation of automated license plate reader networks to help communities resist their deployment. The movement positions these systems not just as transportation technology, but as the linchpins of a growing government data dragnet that requires stronger democratic oversight and community buy-in.
This edited article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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