Ohio Lawmakers Draft Bills to Regulate Flock Surveillance Cameras

Ohio lawmakers are drafting two separate legislative proposals to regulate the use of automatic license plate readers, specifically targeting technology provided by Flock Safety. The efforts follow controversies regarding the misuse of surveillance data and a belief among legislators that internal company policy updates are insufficient to protect citizen privacy.

Al Cutrona, an Ohio State Senator, proposed legislation that would allow government entities to keep the cameras but impose strict data-handling rules. His bill would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant to access camera information and mandate the deletion of that data ten days after use. To prevent the commercialization of surveillance, the bill prohibits the sale of information and establishes a fourth-degree felony penalty for those who misuse the data.

Representative Levi Dean is sponsoring a different approach that would ban government entities and police departments from using AI-assisted cameras entirely unless they obtain a warrant for specific investigations. While Dean's proposal would still permit private entities to use the cameras, it would restrict how that data is utilized. Both bills must pass before the end of the year to take effect.