Bernie Sanders Vows Legislation to 'Stop Flock and AI Mass Surveillance'

In brief

• 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.
• 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.
• Sanders joins a bipartisan backlash, including Rep. Thomas Massie's planned funding-cutoff bill and canceled contracts from Los Angeles to Indiana.

Sen. 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."

In a lengthy post on X on Wednesday, 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.

Sanders 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.