Police in Colorado could face stricter requirements when using automated surveillance systems like Flock Safety to track vehicles.
A pair of bipartisan bills introduced in the Colorado legislature would require law enforcement to obtain warrants before seeking information from the sprawling camera networks, which are now widely used across Colorado and the nation, and introduce other limits on artificial intelligence.
“I think it is a useful tool for law enforcement, and I don't want that to go away,” said Sen. Judy Amabile, a Democrat from Boulder. “But I do want to make sure that people's privacy isn't being invaded and that the data is secure so that ICE doesn't have access to it, so that it can't be used to go after people who are seeking reproductive healthcare.”
Flock operates in 75 Colorado communities, with cameras recording the license plates of millions of vehicles as they pass each day. Police officers can search that data for specific cars, using license plate numbers, vehicle types and other information to track people between locations.
Police say the technology has revolutionized their work, allowing them to quickly locate suspect vehicles and missing people. But ubiquitous surveillance has drawn growing public outrage in Denver and beyond in recent months, especially with concerns about federal agents tapping into the data.
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