A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that using data from AI-powered surveillance cameras — like those operated by Flock Safety — without a warrant may violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The ruling, by Judge Sara Hill, emphasized that the public has a reasonable expectation of privacy and should not be subject to constant, or "dragnet," surveillance in public spaces. The case involved a sheriff's deputy in Tulsa County who used automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology during a traffic stop that led to an arrest for drug possession. The officer used Flock Safety's system to track the vehicle’s movements before any traffic violation or criminal activity was identified. The judge noted that the officer had access to both Flock and VehicleManager systems and found over 50 reports of the vehicle across multiple states. However, the judge ruled that the officer lacked reasonable cause to use the technology and violated the individual's right to privacy. Flock Safety is a private company that provides surveillance equipment and software, including ALPR systems, mass video surveillance, and gunshot detection technology. It operates under contracts with law enforcement, neighborhood associations, and private property owners. Founded in 2017, the company claims to be active in more than 6,000 communities across 49 U.S. states and processes over 20 billion vehicle scans each month. Its network relies on cameras, image recognition, and machine learning to share data with police services. There have been reports of misuse of this technology by law enforcement. In September 2026, five officers from the Metropolitan Police Department in Indianapolis were charged with using license plate reading technology for personal purposes, including tracking an ex-wife. In June 2025, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reported that a Texas sheriff's office used data from more than 83,000 ALPR cameras to locate a woman suspected of having performed an abortion without medical assistance. The officer used searches across 6,809 camera networks managed by Flock Safety, including in states where abortion is protected by law, such as Washington and Illinois. Flock Safety has claimed that its cameras cannot recognize or track individuals, but an investigation revealed the company developed a tool that can track individuals based on movement patterns, without needing a license plate, name, or infraction as a starting point. Journalists from WIRED reconstructed the tool from files exposed through Flock’s login pages. A former police officer who reviewed the software said it allows Flock to "literally follow people." In the past two months, two Republican governors — Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida — have taken steps to restrict the use of this technology in their states. An increasing number of cities have also canceled their contracts with Flock. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have introduced a bill to prevent federal agencies from using AI-based surveillance technology and to stop federal grants from being used by local law enforcement to contract with ALPR system manufacturers. A spokesperson for Flock Safety said the ruling contradicts existing legal precedents in similar cases across the country, including recent decisions in Oklahoma, and expects it to be appealed and overturned. The spokesperson added that the decision applies only to the specific facts of the case and does not create a binding legal precedent or affect the continued use of these technologies by law enforcement.