Lawmakers signaled they may subpoena Flock Safety and other surveillance vendors after the companies declined to testify before a Senate Judiciary subpanel. Witnesses described alleged misuse of AI-powered Flock cameras, including a wrongful arrest and law-enforcement accounts appearing on the dark web. Senators from both parties urged federal rules: shorter data retention, stronger authentication, and limits on centralized surveillance databases.
'Something to Hide?': Congress May Subpoena Flock And Other Surveillance Firms After Skipping Senate Hearing
'Something To Hide': Congress Looks To Subpoena Controversial Surveillance Company
Executives from several surveillance companies — including Flock Safety, the maker of controversial AI-powered license-plate cameras — may soon be summoned to testify before Congress after declining invitations to a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing this week.
What Happened
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who chaired the session, said he could pursue subpoenas for Flock and other vendors that skipped the hearing. Instead of company representatives, the subpanel heard testimony from civil liberties experts and victims who say the technology has been misused.
"I would hope that after today, I hope that they would come in. If they feel like they want to correct the record on something, great — we'd love to hear from them," Hawley said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) added, "Their refusal to come forward and answer questions is a sign that they have something to hide, and they are refusing to be accountable."
Subpoena Authority And Next Steps
Formal subpoena power for the Judiciary Committee rests with Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Hawley said he planned to meet Grassley to discuss whether to compel testimony; Grassley's office did not comment publicly about the possibility.
Flock's Response
Flock Safety submitted a letter from Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley expressing support for "durable legislation and legal standards" and stating the company would work with Congress on a federal framework to protect privacy while preserving tools that help solve crimes.
Witness Accounts And Reported Misuse
Witnesses described real-world harms attributed to the technology. Lindsey Isaacs, a Florida woman, told the subpanel she was wrongly arrested and spent 13 days in jail after a Flock camera allegedly misidentified her vehicle in connection with a fatal crash; prosecutors later dropped the charges.
Cybersecurity engineer Benn Jordan testified that in 2025 he investigated Flock's systems after learning multi-factor authentication was not required for some clients. He said he found law-enforcement accounts tied to Flock being offered for sale on the dark web by a Russian vendor.
Media investigations have also reported cases in which officers misused Flock data, including to track intimate partners.
Policy Concerns And Proposed Fixes
Senators from both parties raised the need for federal guardrails: limits on data retention, stricter authentication requirements for law-enforcement access, and bans on centralized national surveillance databases. Flock says it updated safety standards in August to shorten retention periods and implement multi-factor authentication among other changes.
Other Companies That Declined
Other vendors that declined to appear include Motorola Solutions, Axon and Verkada. Verkada told the committee it provided information but that its CEO was unable to attend, and a company spokesperson emphasized that customers access only their own systems, not a searchable national network.
Why This Matters
The hearing illustrated bipartisan concern about the rapid deployment of AI-driven public-surveillance tools and the potential for abuse, even where those tools aim to aid law enforcement. Lawmakers signaled they may use the committee's subpoena power to force greater transparency and accountability if companies continue to decline voluntary testimony.
Read the original reporting for detailed context and source material.
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