A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers is urging the state’s Director of Transportation to take down automated license plate readers on state roads. They also urged state transportation officials to reject future permits and publicly share data about any camera that has gotten permits.
“The public right-of-way should not become free real estate for an unaccountable, privately operated surveillance network,” the letter reads.
Ohio state Reps. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, Levi Dean, R-Xenia, Darnell Brewer, D-Cleveland, and Justin Pizzulli, R-Scioto County, all signed on. Separately, Dean plans to file legislation prohibiting agencies from using camera data without a warrant.
It’s another example of the widespread and rapidly growing backlash to Flock cameras.
The company operates a network of automated license plate readers around the country, giving law enforcement agencies a powerful tool for tracking down suspects. Flock touts its cameras’ role in solving cases — from human trafficking in Detroit to a jewelry theft in Denver. In 2025, the company claims, its technology supported more than 1 million investigations.
But to critics, the scope and reach of the company’s technology is the problem: why is a private company worth more than $8 billion operating a nationwide surveillance network?
It’s become a hot topic on the Ohio campaign trail. Libertarian candidate for governor Don Kissick regularly cites stories about Flock with the comment: “DeFlock Ohio.”
But both major party candidates for governor have wrestled a bit with how to address the technology. Although Democrat Amy Acton initially praised the cameras’ role in solving crimes, late last month she promised “strict guardrails” as governor to prevent abuse.
In a statement last week, Acton went further, stating that while law enforcement should have the tools they need, “it has become clear that AI-powered Flock cameras are prone to misuse and pose serious risks to Ohioans’ privacy.”
Acton’s campaign went on to voice support for Rader, Dean, Brewer and Pizzuli’s effort to block permits on state highways, and added: “as governor, she would support bipartisan legislation banning the use of Flock across Ohio and work to prevent the abuse of AI surveillance.”
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has said he’s in dialogue with Ohio law enforcement, and they’re “on the same page” about prosecuting crime rapidly and respecting the Constitution in the process.
“And that means that Flock cameras will not ever be used — period — in this state, to spy on an individual, when they’re in a private space, and a private space includes not just your home but also your car,” he said in Lima, late last month.
But Flock cameras don’t spy on people inside the car. Flock will be the first to tell you — their cameras are focused on the license plate, make, model, and features like a car’s color. The Ohio Capital Journal asked Ramaswamy’s campaign to clarify if he supports the ordinary use of Flock cameras. The campaign did not respond.
The city of Columbus provides an even clearer window into just how precarious the politics can get. On Aug. 28, Mayor Andrew Ginther announced a “strengthened framework” and “independent oversight” for the city’s Flock system. He highlighted how the network helped Columbus police solve a homicide and a nonfatal shooting as well as track down a missing senior and a kidnapped child.
“This should not be a choice between protecting civil liberties and protecting people from violent crime,” Ginther said at the time. “Columbus can and should demand both.”
Less than a week later, Ginther announced the city was pausing the program altogether. That change of heart was prompted by a USA Today investigation that noted Columbus Police Officer Melvin Tellis searched for the same license plate number 272 times between Nov. 2023 and Dec. 2024.
“Until I can report out to the people of Columbus that this isn’t a more widespread issue,” the mayor said, “I can’t, with confidence, ask them to trust us with this technology.”
State lawmakers want Ohio Department of Transportation Director Pamela Boratyn to halt new permits for Flock-style cameras and review those that have already been issued. “Wherever legally authorized,” they want her to revoke permits and get cameras taken down. They’re also asking for a public accounting of how many cameras the agency has authorized, their ownership, and the terms of the underlying agreement.
The lawmakers point to the state of Florida, where transportation officials took steps to revoke permits at the end of last month.
“Ohioans deserve the same protection,” the lawmakers stated.
“The question is not whether these cameras can sometimes help solve an individual crime,” they added. “The question is whether that benefit justifies building a system capable of tracking millions of innocent Ohioans without a warrant, individualized suspicion, or meaningful public oversight.”
Ohio hasn’t come up with a policy to control how that traffic data is “searched retained shared or used,” and until it does, the lawmakers contend state agencies should pull back.
“Our roads belong to the public,” Reps. Rader, Dean, Brewer, and Pizzulli wrote. “They should not be used to quietly construct a statewide tracking network around the public.”
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Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.