News-June-28-2026
June 28, 2026 — Vermont police use of out-of-state Flock license-plate camera data highlighted privacy-law gaps around AI-enabled surveillance networks.[1][2]
Contents
[edit]Vermont police use out-of-state Flock data despite state license-plate surveillance limits
[edit]VTDigger reported that Vermont police departments conducted more than 100 searches since 2023 using license-plate camera systems when people under investigation traveled out of state.[1] The report said Vermont's law restricts use of license-plate tracking data by Vermont law enforcement but does not clearly address use of a national out-of-state camera network that did not exist when the law was adopted.[1] VTDigger identified the New England State Police Information Network as the regional intelligence hub through which Vermont agencies obtained Flock network data for some investigations.[1] Engadget reported that Flock automated license-plate readers use AI to catalog and search footage and that more than 100,000 such cameras are installed nationwide.[2] The Vermont report is legally significant because lawmakers who wrote the state's automatic-license-plate-reader limits said the out-of-state workaround may require more explicit legislation before the law sunsets next year.[1]
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Vermont lawmakers tried to curb license plate surveillance. Police found a way around it., VTDigger, June 28, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flock Cameras Track More Than Your License Plate, And They're Spreading Fast, Engadget, June 28, 2026.