Trump Orders Review To Ensure Americans Are Watched Enough
President Donald Trump announced Monday that his administration will review Flock Safety’s nationwide license-plate camera network to determine whether Americans are being monitored thoroughly enough to remain free. Flock operates more than 120,000 cameras that photograph passing vehicles and make the resulting location data searchable by thousands of law-enforcement agencies. Bipartisan critics have raised concerns about warrantless surveillance and documented misuse, prompting the company to shorten its standard data-retention period from 30 days to seven and require additional audits. The reforms immediately alarmed constitutional conservatives, who warned that deleting location records after one week could force police to investigate citizens using evidence, suspicion or other obsolete pre-cloud methods.
Trump said the review would weigh the system’s benefits, including the ability to track nearly any vehicle, against its principal drawback, which is that Americans keep finding out about it. “People say privacy means nobody knows where you are, but that’s completely wrong,” Trump said. “Real privacy is when the government knows exactly where everybody is all the time, so nobody has to worry about where anybody might be. That’s beautiful privacy.” Administration officials emphasized that Flock does not track people, only their cars, movements, destinations, schedules, bumper stickers, acquaintances and repeated visits to addresses whose significance can be determined later.
The White House is also considering safeguards intended to preserve the appearance of constitutional government without interfering with the cameras. One proposal would require each device to display a small Fourth Amendment plaque, assuring motorists that protection against unreasonable searches remains available nearby in a decorative capacity. Another would permit drivers to opt out by avoiding public roads, private parking lots, businesses, schools, hospitals and any other location visible from a pole. Trump promised a decision within weeks, after officials determine whether mass surveillance should remain a controversial local practice or become a beloved federal tradition that citizens are required to appreciate. The review has already established that freedom is safest when the government can search for it by license plate.
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