Lawmakers Want States to Crack Down on Flock Cameras—or Pay the Price
Lawmakers Want States to Crack Down on Flock Cameras—or Pay the Price
立法者要求各州严管 Flock 摄像头，否则将面临资金削减
A bipartisan pair of US lawmakers tell WIRED they plan to introduce legislation today that would strip federal funding from states that fail to restrict the use of Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers. The devices, which help police track the location of vehicles tied to crimes, have become the subject of nationwide backlash in recent months over more nefarious uses by officers.
美国两党议员告诉《连线》（WIRED），他们计划于今日提出一项立法，旨在剥夺那些未能限制使用 Flock 摄像头及其他自动车牌识别系统（ALPR）的州的联邦资金。这些设备本用于帮助警方追踪与犯罪相关的车辆位置，但近几个月来，由于警务人员滥用这些设备进行不当行为，它们已成为全国范围内抵制的对象。
The No FLOCK Act—for Federal License-Plate Observation and Camera Keeping—directs the US secretary of transportation to withhold 10 percent of annual financial support due to states for highways, roads, and bridges if it fails to ban Flock and similar devices for all but five use cases. Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat representing Chicago suburbs, and Michael Cloud, a Republican whose Texas district includes Corpus Christi, are cosponsoring the bill.
《禁止 Flock 法案》（No FLOCK Act，全称为“联邦车牌观察与摄像头管理法案”）规定，如果各州未能将 Flock 及类似设备的使用限制在五种特定用途之内，美国交通部长将扣留该州 10% 的年度公路、道路和桥梁财政支持。代表芝加哥郊区的民主党众议员拉贾·克里希纳莫尔蒂（Raja Krishnamoorthi）和选区包括科珀斯克里斯蒂的共和党众议员迈克尔·克劳德（Michael Cloud）共同发起了这项法案。
The legislation says that Flock cameras could be used only for “enforcing toll systems, identifying stolen vehicles, missing or endangered persons, vehicles registered to persons with a warrant for a felony offense, or investigating a vehicle involved in a felony offense.” Notably absent are uses like conducting traffic studies, investigating minor drug crimes, and enforcing parking and speeding rules.
该法案规定，Flock 摄像头仅可用于“执行收费系统、识别被盗车辆、寻找失踪或处于危险中的人员、识别注册在有重罪逮捕令人员名下的车辆，或调查涉及重罪的车辆”。值得注意的是，进行交通研究、调查轻微毒品犯罪以及执行停车和超速规则等用途被排除在外。
“Our investigation into Flock exposed serious gaps in oversight, and this bipartisan bill would put clear limits in place to prevent abuse while preserving legitimate public safety uses,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.
克里希纳莫尔蒂在一份声明中表示：“我们对 Flock 的调查揭露了监管方面的严重漏洞，这项两党法案将设定明确的限制，以防止滥用，同时保留合法的公共安全用途。”
But the bill stops short of banning Flock systems altogether, which has been the number one demand from supporters of a global protest movement against the Atlanta-based company and its competitors. It also doesn’t stop Flock users from broadly sharing license plate tracking data with other government agencies, including immigration authorities.
然而，该法案并未完全禁止 Flock 系统，而这正是全球针对这家总部位于亚特兰大的公司及其竞争对手的抗议运动支持者的首要诉求。此外，该法案也未能阻止 Flock 用户与包括移民局在内的其他政府机构广泛共享车牌追踪数据。
Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposed bill.
Flock 公司未立即回应关于该拟议法案的置评请求。
If the legislation is passed this year, states that fail to comply with it would begin losing out on tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual transportation funding starting in October 2028.
如果该法案今年获得通过，未能遵守规定的州将从 2028 年 10 月起，每年损失数千万至数亿美元的交通资金。
The Department of Transportation calculates the amount of so-called surface transportation funds it gives to states based on factors such as how many roadways they have and how busy they are. Congress has repeatedly threatened taking away the funding to pressure states into taking action on public safety. The tactic helped establish a national minimum drinking age, standard rules for what constitutes driving under the influence, and regulations for billboards alongside highways.
美国交通部根据各州的道路数量和繁忙程度等因素，计算拨付给各州的所谓“地面交通资金”。国会曾多次以削减资金为威胁，迫使各州在公共安全问题上采取行动。这一策略曾成功推动了全国最低饮酒年龄的设立、酒驾标准的统一，以及高速公路旁广告牌监管法规的制定。
Another bipartisan bill introduced in Congress recently called for banning the use of federal funding to purchase Flock cameras. Flock’s lobbying spending in Washington, DC, has been steady over the past 18 months, and it recently hired a fifth firm to help with the efforts, according to federal records.
国会最近提出的另一项两党法案要求禁止使用联邦资金购买 Flock 摄像头。根据联邦记录，过去 18 个月里，Flock 在华盛顿特区的游说支出一直保持稳定，且最近又聘请了第五家公司来协助其游说工作。
Tech Backlash / 技术反弹
A number of issues related to emerging technologies, including rogue AI systems, data center construction, and law enforcement abuse of Flock cameras, have become major topics in the upcoming US midterm elections, which are now less than two months away. But it’s unclear whether any legislation designed to address voters’ concerns will advance through Congress anytime soon, let alone gain the approval of President Donald Trump.
包括非法 AI 系统、数据中心建设以及执法部门滥用 Flock 摄像头在内的一系列新兴技术相关问题，已成为距离不到两个月的美国中期选举中的主要议题。但目前尚不清楚旨在解决选民担忧的任何立法是否能很快在国会取得进展，更不用说获得唐纳德·特朗普总统的批准了。
The president expressed support for Flock cameras on Sunday, telling reporters that they help law enforcement authorities. Lawmakers largely agree, but they are frustrated by cases in which police officers have been caught using Flock footage for personal reasons, such as stalking their one-time romantic partners. One report found at least 100 instances of alleged abuse over the past eight years.
总统周日表达了对 Flock 摄像头的支持，告诉记者这些设备有助于执法部门工作。议员们对此大体表示赞同，但他们对警察因个人原因（如跟踪前伴侣）使用 Flock 监控录像的案例感到沮丧。一份报告发现，过去八年中至少发生了 100 起此类涉嫌滥用的事件。
“Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund the shredding of their own civil liberties or the growth of a surveillance state,” Cloud said in a statement. “Flock cameras are enabling mass surveillance of Americans, infringing on the Fourth Amendment.”
克劳德在声明中表示：“纳税人不应被迫为践踏自身公民自由或监控国家的扩张买单。Flock 摄像头正在实现对美国人的大规模监控，侵犯了宪法第四修正案。”
About 25 states and US territories have laws about automated license plate readers, including mandating transparency about the systems and requiring unnecessary data to be promptly deleted, but few of the measures limit types of uses, according to the New York University School of Law’s Policing Project.
根据纽约大学法学院“警务项目”（Policing Project）的数据，约有 25 个州和美国领地制定了关于自动车牌识别系统的法律，包括要求系统透明化以及要求及时删除不必要的数据，但很少有措施限制其使用类型。
The bill is “a first step toward reining in unchecked surveillance,” Cloud said, adding, “we can protect public safety without sacrificing the privacy of Americans.”
克劳德称，该法案是“遏制无限制监控的第一步”，并补充道：“我们可以在不牺牲美国人隐私的情况下保护公共安全。”