{"slug": "bernie-sanders-vows-legislation-to-stop-flock-and-ai-mass-surveillance", "title": "Bernie Sanders Vows Legislation to 'Stop Flock and AI Mass Surveillance'", "summary": "Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged on X to introduce legislation targeting Flock Safety, saying the company's more than 120,000 AI-powered cameras scan 20 billion vehicles monthly across 6,000-plus communities and risk pushing the U.S. toward totalitarianism. Sanders joins a bipartisan backlash that includes Rep. Thomas Massie's planned funding-cutoff bill and canceled contracts from Los Angeles to Indiana.", "body_md": "#### In brief\n\n- Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged in an X post to introduce legislation targeting Flock Safety, opening with \"STOP FLOCK. STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE\" and warning that unchecked tracking technology risks steering the country toward totalitarianism.\n- He said Flock has installed more than 120,000 AI cameras scanning 20 billion vehicles monthly across 6,000-plus communities, and that newer models can combine images with databases of phone numbers, relatives and court records to identify people.\n- Sanders joins a bipartisan backlash, including Rep. Thomas Massie's planned funding-cutoff bill and canceled contracts from Los Angeles to Indiana.\n\nSen. Bernie Sanders is taking aim at Flock Safety, pledging to introduce legislation targeting the surveillance-camera company as he warned that artificial intelligence is pushing the country toward a \"surveillance state.\"\n\nIn a lengthy [post on X on Wednesday](https://x.com/SenSanders/status/2092667322695635447), the Vermont independent framed the fight in stark terms, opening with \"STOP FLOCK. STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE\" and cautioning that unchecked tracking technology risks steering the U.S. toward totalitarianism.\n\nSanders said Flock, which he described as backed by tech figures Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel, has installed more than 120,000 AI-powered cameras across the country that scan and record 20 billion vehicles each month in over 6,000 communities.\n\nSanders argued the reach extends into daily life, saying that wherever Flock operates, its cameras log residents dropping children at school, visiting doctors or heading out on dates. He also pointed to newer capabilities, contending Flock's AI can combine images of a person and their vehicle with databases of phone numbers, relatives and court records to determine who someone is and where they're going. He closed by promising to introduce a bill to rein in the technology.\n\nSTOP FLOCK. STOP AI MASS SURVEILLANCE.\n\nTotalitarianism is when a government or another entity with overwhelming power seeks to know, control and influence everything you do, say and even think. I fear very much that if we don't act aggressively, that is where we’re heading.…\n\n— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders)\n\n[August 26, 2026]\n\nThe pledge adds a prominent voice to a swelling bipartisan backlash. Opposition to Flock's automated license plate readers has [already reached Capitol Hill](https://decrypt.co/374603/flock-cameras-backlash-privacy-concerns-capitol-hill), where Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie said he plans legislation to withhold federal funding from agencies that deploy the cameras. Local governments from Los Angeles to Monroe County, Indiana, have suspended or canceled contracts amid privacy concerns, while activists in dozens of states have vandalized or disabled the devices.\n\nAtlanta-based Flock, founded in 2017, says its cameras don't use facial recognition and typically retain footage for 30 days. CEO Garrett Langley has argued that critics often soften once they understand the technology mainly photographs vehicles, and he recently apologized for previously labeling anti-Flock activists a \"terroristic organization.\"\n\nIn an interview with FOX News earlier this week, Langley [asked Americans to “compromise”](https://decrypt.co/376690/flock-ceo-asks-americans-to-compromise-on-privacy-as-camera-backlash-grows) on their privacy, implying citizens should prioritize safety over concerns about surveillance.\n\nFlock has moved aggressively over the past year to expand its footprint, including a nationwide plate-scanning [fleet involving Uber drivers](https://decrypt.co/375149/flock-cameras-uber-drivers-nationwide-plate-scanning-fleet) and a [police tool for tracking drivers](https://decrypt.co/375978/flock-ai-police-tool-track-drivers).\n\nSanders did not specify when he would introduce the bill.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/bernie-sanders-vows-legislation-to-stop-flock-and-ai-mass-surveillance", "canonical_source": "https://decrypt.co/376878/bernie-sanders-ban-flock-ai-surveillance", "published_at": "2026-08-29 17:31:03+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-29 17:48:18.475535+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-ethics", "computer-vision"], "entities": ["Bernie Sanders", "Flock Safety", "Thomas Massie", "Garrett Langley", "Marc Andreessen", "Peter Thiel", "Los Angeles", "Monroe County, Indiana"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/bernie-sanders-vows-legislation-to-stop-flock-and-ai-mass-surveillance", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/bernie-sanders-vows-legislation-to-stop-flock-and-ai-mass-surveillance.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/bernie-sanders-vows-legislation-to-stop-flock-and-ai-mass-surveillance.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/bernie-sanders-vows-legislation-to-stop-flock-and-ai-mass-surveillance.jsonld"}}