Andrea James is a Massachusetts criminal justice organizer, author and former criminal defense lawyer. She founded and leads the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls and founded Families for Justice as Healing. She wrote Upper Bunkies Unite and is an independent candidate for governor in 2026.
Case
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Role at the time: Independent candidate for governor of Massachusetts, in an emailed statement from her campaign
Statement summary
Andrea James, an independent candidate for Massachusetts governor, said in a statement to Dispute Index that Flock-style surveillance networks are an unacceptable intrusion into privacy. She cited a lack of transparency about who can access the data, across which jurisdictions and for what purposes, and said corporate policies are no substitute for legal protections.
“Flock-style surveillance networks represent an unacceptable intrusion into privacy”
Flock-style surveillance networks represent an unacceptable intrusion into privacy, compounded by the lack of transparency surrounding who can access the data, across which jurisdictions, and for what purposes. People cannot meaningfully challenge surveillance when the collection, sharing, and use of their information remain beyond public scrutiny. Expanding AI-powered monitoring without adequate, enforceable safeguards deepens that imbalance of power. Corporate policies are no substitute for legal protections, and claims of public safety do not override civil liberties. The government must justify its surveillance, not the public its privacy.
The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. James calls the networks an unacceptable intrusion into privacy, so we labeled it Condemned. She calls for adequate, enforceable safeguards and legal protections without naming a specific remedy such as a ban, funding cut, pause or warrant requirement, so the statement sits outside the remedy ladder.
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
