Lawmakers again questioned representatives from Flock, the public safety and surveillance technology company, during November interim meetings on Monday at the State Capitol.
Members are working to better understand the technology with the goal of crafting legislation to rein it in during the 2027 Regular Session.
The controversial cameras capture images including license plate numbers, vehicle make, model, color and unique features like bumper stickers or temporary tags to create a searchable digital database of vehicle movements for use by police departments. They have been the subject of privacy and constitutional concerns both in West Virginia, and nationally.
Committee members have gone back and forth with the company in a series of four letters with questions raised by testimony from Kevin Kane, the company’s director of government affairs, during interim meetings in August.
Dan Haley, chief legal officer for Flock Safety, and Matt Fanto, director of product security and privacy for the company, appeared before the Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization via video conference to answer questions.
Lawmakers have been generally dissatisfied with answers the company has given to their 19 written questions on topics ranging from security incidents and unauthorized access to data governance and infrastructure.
The majority of the hour and a half of legislative discussion on Monday focused on how flock’s data is used, where the images go, who has access to the information and safeguards. Delegate Tristan Leavitt (R-Kanawha, 53) led the questioning.
Leavitt raised specific concerns with an incident in Dunwoody, Ga. where live feeds of a children’s gymnastic class were reportedly accessed by Flock employees making a sales pitch about the devices. Leavitt said reporting of the incident indicated that the live feed was viewed for several hours.
Haley told lawmakers the city of Dunwoody was a development partner with the company, and granted permission for the company to use its data for the purposes of demonstrating it to prospective customers.
Haley speculated that if the incident happened, it’s likely that the gym’s live feed was left in an open browser.
“That would be pure speculation,” Haley said. “There would be no reason for a sales rep or anyone else to sit on an open feed for four hours.”
Advocates say the technology provides law enforcement with objective, searchable vehicle and license plate data to help solve and prevent crimes quickly.
An example given was the cameras’ ability to spot stolen vehicles instantly by reading license plates and alerting police. The can also track vehicles linked to abducted children or missing vulnerable adults.
The biggest concern from lawmakers and citizens alike is the creation of a massive, passive surveillance network that tracks and logs the movements of ordinary citizens, including people not suspected of any crime, without a warrant.
Haley said the company recognizes the concerns that automatic license plate readers raise, and he encouraged lawmakers to pass legislation that addresses those concerns.
“This is why Matt and I are urging you, as we have urged your peers in states across the country, to pass a bill that establishes commonsense privacy protections and usage guardrails, while ensuring that law enforcement agencies have the ability to use this technology to keep the communities you represent safe,” Haley said.
Lawmakers hope to have a bill introduced on day one of the the 2027 legislative session, providing for plenty of time to work the bill in committee, build consensus, and make any necessary changes.
