PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Philadelphia City Council has passed a resolution urging state leaders to ban and/or create strong regulations for the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) like Flock cameras across Pennsylvania.
Councilmember Rue Landau introduced the resolution that council considered Thursday as they heard public testimony.
Currently, multiple state policy proposals and pieces of legislation have been introduced, but no statewide law is currently in place.
Municipalities across the country are making adjustments to the use of ALPRs.
Landau’s resolution refers to the rapid spread of the technology as “largely unregulated.”
Many concerns expressed in the resolution are about data storage and security, tracking, and constitutional protections against mass surveillance.
The Philadelphia resolution states that ALPRs differ from automated traffic enforcement cameras, like speed cameras, red light cameras, and toll cameras.
Councilmember Landau wrote:
“Traffic enforcement cameras are triggered by a specific action (such as driving faster than the speed limit); whereas ALPRs are significantly more invasive by constantly recording, tracking the movements of everything that enter their field of view, and saves data to be shared with mass surveillance databases.”
Gov. Shapiro has taken a strong stance about the use of Flock cameras.
Shapiro’s spokesperson, Rosie Lapowsky, provided a statement to Action News:
“As Governor Shapiro has made clear, he has real concerns about the way Flock cameras are being used across Pennsylvania right now. Commonwealth agencies, including the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation do not own Flock cameras and will not allow them to be used or installed on Commonwealth property. There are currently several proposals in the Legislature that would either ban or strictly regulate this technology, and our Administration is working with the General Assembly on what piece of legislation could make it to the Governor’s desk in order to protect Pennsylvanians’ privacy.”
Landau also accused Flock of misleading customers about the ability of federal agencies such as ICE to access the national search network.
Action News asked Flock for a statement on the resolution.
A Flock spokesperson provided a statement and noted the Philadelphia Police Department is not a customer:
“Flock’s technology is an important public safety tool for law enforcement agencies across Pennsylvania, helping officers solve serious crimes and find missing people. A blanket ban would take a proven investigative tool away from communities and officers who rely on it. We support thoughtful, bipartisan legislation that puts strong privacy, transparency, and accountability guardrails in place while preserving law enforcement’s ability to use technology responsibly to keep people safe.”
Landau’s resolution supports guardrails that are taking effect in other cities that include requiring a warrant for the use of cameras to track particular individuals or license plates; regulations on the collection or use of the data, such as short retention periods, restrictions on use and disclosure of the data collected, and required transparency.
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