A group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers is asking the Ohio Department of Transportation to pump the brakes when it comes to Flock automatic license plate readers and other AI-activated cameras.
Rep. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) said the letter asks ODOT to "stop issuing new permits for license plate reading technology in the state’s rights of way, places they control along highways, mainly, and that they review applications for existing license plate readers."
The letter comes from Rader and Reps. Darnell Brewer (D-Cleveland), Levi Dean (R-Xenia) and Justin Pizzulli (R-Scioto Cty.).
Rader said in an interview the cameras shouldn't be able to track people everywhere, especially when they haven’t committed any crimes.
“We need to put some really strong safeguards in place, and we need to wind down the technology for now and at least severely limit it so that we can protect people’s privacy and protect people’s safety in a way that I think they expect," Rader said.
The letter said continuing to allow ever-broader use of AI-activated cameras and the data they collect is essentially allowing a statewide tracking system without rules. It adds: "Until those protections exist, the state should not facilitate the expansion of this surveillance infrastructure."
Some Ohio lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are working on legislation to deal with Flock and similar AI-activated cameras. But the legislature won’t be back until after the November election.
ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning said in a written statement the agency has received the letter and “we are reviewing it.”
