Ben Cline urges Virginia localities to stop using Flock cameras
Ben ClineU.S. representative (R) from Virginia's 6th District running for reelection
Ben Cline said any Virginia municipality using Flock's technology should stop, and that Americans have a constitutional right to live free from unchecked government surveillance.
“Any Virginia municipality using this technology should stop Americans have a constitutional right to live their lives free from unchecked government surveillance. New technology does not strip citizens of that right.”
Interview
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?
Networked automated license-plate readers record passing vehicles and let agencies search or share travel records across locations. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to prohibit these networks, keep them with legal limits, or defend their use for investigations. This tracker records attributable positions on that choice, including proposals that would affect only public funding or data access.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Candidate survey published by Virginia's public media stations (VPM, WAMU, WHRO, WMRA and Radio IQ).
Reporting
About this source
Freedom Caucus Daily report on Rep. Ben Cline's call for Virginia localities to stop using Flock Safety cameras after a WIRED investigation.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Freedom Caucus Daily reports that Cline spoke after a WIRED investigation found Flock had built an artificial intelligence tool capable of identifying and tracking individual drivers.
After the quotation
The article reports that Flock told WIRED the tool is a separate product from its plate-reader technology and that it plans new safeguards by the end of the year. VPM later reproduced the statement in its candidate survey after Cline did not answer its question on plate readers.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether networked license-plate readers such as Flock should exist and be used. Cline says any Virginia municipality using the technology should stop, citing a constitutional right to be free from unchecked government surveillance. That is a call to end local use, so we used Condemned.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Flock Safety
More from this case
Read the full caseJacob Burnett says Flock-style cameras should be done away with, with warrants required if they stay
“The systems themselves can be modified to prevent nearly all abuse and be made more secure by requiring warrants for access or follow through on any data the systems collect and have all data stored on the hardware itself preventing viewing from remote locations, requiring strict login credentials and a connecting warrant number to access. These are common sense changes that if the systems are to be used I feel could correct a lot of abuse or privacy concerns but I also feel the systems should be done away with overall, especially in the realm of predictive crime analytics.”Read statement
Dean Brewer, an independent candidate for Tennessee governor, says Flock cameras should be banned
“I believe flock cameras should be banned.”Read statement
Buddy Carter says license plate cameras help investigators but need privacy safeguards
“Technologies like license plate recognition cameras can provide valuable investigative tools, but they have also raised important questions about privacy and government oversight. As these systems become more common, it is important to balance public safety with appropriate safeguards that protect individual privacy.”Read statement
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- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Ben Cline urges Virginia localities to stop using Flock cameras
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/3199-ben-cline-said-any-virginia-municipality-using-flock
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Ben Cline urges Virginia localities to stop using Flock cameras". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3199-ben-cline-said-any-virginia-municipality-using-flock