Federal judge rules warrantless Flock searches are 'mass surveillance'

Overview

Updated Oct 21

A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled on Oct. 1 that a warrantless search of Flock Safety's license plate database was 'indiscriminate mass surveillance' and violated the Fourth Amendment. Judge Sara Hill suppressed 91 pounds of meth found after a Tulsa County deputy ran a California plate without a warrant.

Congress now has several bills. Republican Rep. Pat Harrigan introduced H.R. 10822 on Oct. 15 to require probable-cause warrants for most Flock searches, delete most records within 24 hours and cut 10% of some federal criminal-justice funds for states without similar protections. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez's Ban Flock Act would bar federal agencies from using the cameras, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib offered a separate bill Oct. 14 to cut federal funds for plate readers.

Why it matters

If courts and Congress curb warrantless plate searches, police lose a tool that logs millions of vehicles across a national camera network.

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Key Indicators

120,000

Cameras in Flock's network

Flock is the largest automatic license plate reader vendor in the U.S.

20 billion

Vehicle reads per month

Flock said its network processes more than 20 billion vehicle reads each month.

7 days

Default data retention period

Flock cut its default retention from 30 days to 7 days in August 2026.

91 lbs

Meth suppressed as evidence

The judge ordered the evidence suppressed as 'fruit of the poisonous tree.'

24 hours

Proposed deletion deadline

Harrigan's H.R. 10822 would require most Flock records deleted within 24 hours.

10%

Federal justice funding at risk

States without similar plate-reader protections could lose about 10% of some federal criminal-justice funding under H.R. 10822.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Sara E. Hill

U.S. District Judge

Ruled Flock search unconstitutional

Bernie Sanders

U.S. Senator (I-Vermont)

Introduced the Ban Flock Act

Garrett Langley

CEO of Flock Safety

Defending the technology, expects appeal

Josh Hawley

U.S. Senator (R-Missouri)

Introduced the Stop Flock Abuse Act

Pat Harrigan

U.S. Representative (R-North Carolina)

Introduced H.R. 10822

Rashida Tlaib

U.S. Representative (D-Michigan)

Introduced H.R. 10807

Organizations Involved

Flock Safety

Technology company

Facing lawsuits, legislation and a report on retained log-ins

Largest automatic license plate reader vendor in the U.S. with more than 120,000 cameras.

U.S. Congress

Legislative body

Considering several Flock-related bills

The legislative body considering the Ban Flock Act.

Timeline

February 2026 October 2026

9 events Latest: October 15th, 2026 · 4 weeks ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
Harrigan introduces Flock warrant bill
Latest Legislation

Rep. Pat Harrigan introduced H.R. 10822, which would require probable-cause warrants for most Flock searches and delete most records within 24 hours. It has no cosponsors and was referred to the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.
October 15th, 2026
Tlaib introduces bill to cut federal funds for plate readers
Legislation

Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduced H.R. 10807, a bill to bar federal funds for automated license plate readers and other automated surveillance. The bill has not become law.
October 14th, 2026
Ban Flock Act introduced
Legislation

Sanders and allies introduced a bill to bar federal agencies from using license plate readers.
October 2nd, 2026
Judge rules Flock search unconstitutional
Legal

Judge Hill ruled a deputy's warrantless Flock search violated the Fourth Amendment and suppressed the evidence.
October 1st, 2026
Georgia man sues Flock and sheriff's office
Legal

A Georgia man sued Flock Safety and a sheriff's office, alleging the plate-reader system was used to retaliate against him. Flock said in August 2026 it would require case codes for all law enforcement searches by the end of the year.
October 2026
Texas man appeals Flock-based robbery conviction
Legal

A Texas man appealed an armed robbery conviction, arguing that a warrantless Flock search violated his Fourth Amendment rights. Several Texas lawmakers said they will file bills in 2027 to restrict the cameras.
October 2026
September 2026
Stop Flock Abuse Act Introduced
Legislation

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill to impose guardrails on police use of ALPRs, including a 10-day data retention limit and mandatory audits.
September 30th, 2026
August 2026
Flock cuts data retention
Policy Change

CEO Garrett Langley announced a 7-day default retention period, down from 30 days.
August 2026
February 2026
Flock reports 20 billion monthly reads
Company Disclosure

The company said its network processes more than 20 billion vehicle reads each month.
February 2026

Scenarios

Appeals court overturns Flock ruling

Possible Resolves by Oct 1, 2027

Discussed by: Flock Safety spokesperson

Flock expects the ruling to be appealed and overturned, arguing it goes against the weight of authority in similar cases. The ruling does not set binding precedent, so an appeals court could reverse it.

Ban Flock Act passes Congress

Unlikely Resolves by Jan 3, 2027

Discussed by: TechCrunch

The bill faces long odds, like most legislation. It would bar federal agencies from using ALPRs, cut federal grants to non-compliant state and local agencies, and allow Americans to sue the federal government over violations.

More courts adopt the reasoning

Possible Resolves by Oct 1, 2027

Discussed by: 404 Media

Several other cases across the country are considering the legality of warrantless ALPR searches. If other federal judges adopt Hill's reasoning, Flock and similar systems face new legal limits.

Stop Flock Abuse Act gains traction as compromise

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Truthout

While the Ban Flock Act faces long odds, Hawley's bill offers a more limited approach that could attract bipartisan support. It would not ban ALPRs but would impose retention limits and audit requirements.

Congress passes a warrant requirement for Flock searches

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Rep. Pat Harrigan

H.R. 10822 would require probable-cause warrants for most Flock searches, with an exception for immediate threats to life or safety. It has no cosponsors and was referred to the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 2018

Carpenter v. United States (2018)

The Supreme Court ruled that the government's warrantless acquisition of cell-site location records from a wireless carrier violated the Fourth Amendment. The court found that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of their physical movements.

Then

The government now needs a warrant for most cell-site location data.

Now

Established that prolonged location tracking, even in public, can be a search.

Why this matters now

Judge Hill explicitly cited Carpenter's reasoning about location privacy in her Flock ruling.

January 2012

United States v. Jones (2012)

The Supreme Court ruled that attaching a GPS tracker to a car and monitoring its movements for weeks was a search requiring a warrant. The court found the physical attachment was a trespass, but several justices also noted privacy concerns with prolonged tracking.

Then

Police need a warrant for GPS tracking of vehicles.

Now

Set the stage for later rulings on digital location tracking.

Why this matters now

The Flock ruling extends the logic of Jones from a single tracked car to a network that logs every vehicle.

December 1967

Katz v. United States (1967)

The Supreme Court ruled that wiretapping a public phone booth without a warrant violated the Fourth Amendment. Justice John Marshall Harlan's concurrence established the 'reasonable expectation of privacy' test.

Then

The government needs a warrant for electronic eavesdropping.

Now

The reasonable expectation of privacy test became the standard for Fourth Amendment analysis.

Why this matters now

Judge Hill applied the Katz test to ALPR data, finding that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of their movements.