The Right Is Rediscovering the Fourth Amendment
Flock cameras create a new dilemma: What happens when law-and-order politics collide with distrust of government surveillance?
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican Senator Josh Hawley are among the latest figures from the right to express concerns over the use of automated license-plate readers. DeSantis recently criticized the technology, calling it "out of control" after citing instances of personal surveillance. Similarly, Hawley has launched a Senate investigation into the collection, retention, and sharing of Americans' data by one such system, Flock Safety.
Traditionally, conservatives have supported police with powerful tools to fight crime, while progressives and civil libertarians have been more skeptical of government surveillance. However, the deployment of Flock's technology, which takes photos of passing vehicles and records license plate information, is shifting this long-standing political divide. The devices create a database accessible to police during investigations, raising concerns about privacy among conservatives.
While there have been challenges to the Flock system, courts have not found it unconstitutional. The technology's scale has transformed the political question, blending two previously distinct aspects of policing: investigating people suspected of crimes and collecting information on everyone for future use. As a result, conservatives are now questioning whether citizens should enter a searchable government-accessible record simply by driving on public roads.
Supporters of Flock argue that the technology can expedite investigations and improve police efficiency. However, conservatives are now demanding more stringent rules governing the system, such as shorter retention periods, tighter limits on data sharing, and higher legal thresholds for certain searches. While keeping the cameras may still be justified, the fight is shifting from the technology's existence to the rules governing its use.
The emergence of this backlash against Flock indicates that privacy is becoming a value embraced by conservatives as well. As more Republicans apply skepticism to other forms of automated surveillance, the politics of privacy may undergo a significant shift.
Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
