The chief executives of four surveillance technology companies, including Flock Safety, have been invited to testify before a Senate subcommittee next week as lawmakers examine how AI-powered cameras track the movements of Americans, Fox News Digital first reported.
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism will hold a hearing titled “Always Watching: Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network” on Sept. 23.
Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said the goal is to determine who has access to the vast troves of location data these systems collect.
“Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church,” Hawley said. “I’m investigating these companies to determine WHO has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data – and what they’re doing with it.”
Those invited to testify are Garrett Langley, CEO of Flock Safety; Rick Smith, CEO of Axon Enterprise Inc.; Greg Brown, CEO of Motorola Solutions; and Filip Kaliszan, CEO of Verkada.
AI-equipped surveillance cameras made by these companies automatically scan and identify vehicles and license plates for use by local law enforcement. Critics across the political spectrum argue the systems can track drivers regardless of whether any crime has been committed, and often without a warrant or the driver’s consent.
State Pushback Already Underway
Several governors have already moved against the technology. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the removal of all license plate reader cameras from state roads, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies to stop spending public money on Flock Safety cameras.
Flock Safety says it operates roughly 120,000 cameras nationwide, in every state except Alaska. Colorado and Arizona have also seen local organizing against the devices, alongside broader campaigns against data center expansion in those states.
Opposition to the cameras has drawn support from an unusual mix of political groups. Republican lawmakers have generally focused on concerns about privacy, government overreach and warrantless surveillance, while socialist and left-wing organizers have folded the cameras into wider campaigns against artificial intelligence, policing, immigration enforcement and data center construction, which they describe as elements of an emerging “police state” or “AI surveillance state.”
President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he supports Flock Safety cameras “because of law enforcement” and the assistance the technology provides to police departments. Trump and other Republican leaders have continued to back data center construction as part of the administration’s broader technology and infrastructure agenda, even as some conservative activists campaign against it locally.
Left-Wing Groups Join the Fight
Over the past year, organizations tied to a network funded by Shanghai-based tech businessman Neville Roy Singham have organized local opposition to Flock Safety cameras while also campaigning against new data center projects.
In May, the Denver chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation partnered with Indivisible and the Sunrise Movement to host a public forum arguing that data centers and mass surveillance both serve corporate interests rather than local communities.
In Tucson, the party’s local chapter joined “deFLOCK Tucson” and the “No Desert Data Center Coalition” on July 25 for an event called “It’s ALL Connected,” held at the Global Justice Center. Promotional materials for the event asked what mass surveillance, data centers and electricity have in common, answering with the phrase: “IT’S ALL CONNECTED.”
Fox News Digital said it reached out to all four companies invited to testify next week.
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