Josh Hawley Investigates Flock Safety Over Data Practices
Senator probes license plate reader company's data collection and dissemination policies.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
A Flock Safety license plate reader is seen along a public road, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
Photograph: Spectrum Local News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is investigating Flock Safety, a company that operates a network of license plate reader cameras.
- The investigation concerns Flock Safety's policies for collecting, retaining, and sharing data gathered by its cameras.
- Hawley stated that Congress has not authorized the industry-wide network of license plate readers.
- St. Charles County Police will cease using Flock technology after a civilian improperly accessed data.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 9 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
20/100
9 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 9 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley has initiated an investigation into Flock Safety, a technology firm that supplies license plate reader cameras to law enforcement agencies. The inquiry, led by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee chaired by Hawley, centres on the company's practices regarding the collection, retention, and dissemination of data captured by its cameras.
Hawley expressed concerns that the company's internal policies serve as the primary safeguards for Americans' data, as Congress has not formally authorised the widespread use of such technology. He stated that the public is increasingly aware of these practices and seeking answers from elected officials. In a related development, the St. Charles County Police department announced it would stop using Flock technology following an incident where a civilian improperly accessed data. The department will continue to use other providers with what it describes as more stringent access protocols.
Disagreement on company response
A spokesperson for Flock Safety stated that the company looks forward to working with the subcommittee to offer further context on its technology, its built-in safeguards, and how law enforcement agencies utilise Flock to solve crimes and locate missing individuals. The reports do not contain any statement from the company regarding this specific inquiry.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mention the St. Charles County Police decision to stop using Flock technology after a civilian improperly accessed data.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 7 times, most recently on 26 Aug 2026, 23:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Daily Caller News Foundation
Independent Journal Review — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Spectrum Local News led on Senator Josh Hawley opening an investigation into Flock Safety, noting the company's use of license plate readers and growing scrutiny over data access. The report included Hawley's statement that Congress never authorised the network and that the company's internal policies are the main safeguards for Americans' privacy. It also mentioned the St. Charles County Police decision to stop using Flock technology after a civilian improperly accessed data, and that St. Louis County Police were restricting access to license plate reader technology.
Right
7 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on Senator Josh Hawley launching an investigation into Flock Safety over surveillance concerns. Multiple reports highlighted Hawley's statement that Congress never authorised the network and that the company's internal policies are the only safeguards for Americans' data. Some reports mentioned Hawley's request for internal records from the company, detailing its roughly 120,000 devices. The Independent Journal Review also included details from Hawley's letter about specific instances of alleged misuse, such as an officer searching his girlfriend's license plate multiple times and a case where a driver faced charges for a crime she did not commit. This report also noted legislative efforts by other Republican representatives to ban or restrict the use of such cameras.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Josh Hawley Investigates Flock Safety Over Data Practices?
- Of the 9 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 22% are rated centre, 78% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Josh Hawley Investigates Flock Safety Over Data Practices left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 9 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Josh Hawley Investigates Flock Safety Over Data Practices biased?
- Josh Hawley Investigates Flock Safety Over Data Practices is one event reported by 9 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Josh Hawley Investigates Flock Safety Over Data Practices?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Josh Hawley Investigates Flock Safety Over Data Practices?
- 9 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why is Senator Josh Hawley investigating Flock Safety?
- Senator Josh Hawley is investigating Flock Safety due to concerns about the company's data collection, retention, and dissemination policies. He stated that Congress has not authorised the network of license plate readers and that the company's internal policies are the primary safeguards for Americans' privacy.
- What prompted the St. Charles County Police to stop using Flock technology?
- St. Charles County Police decided to stop using Flock technology after a civilian improperly accessed data from the system. The department indicated it would continue using other providers that it states have stricter access protocols in place.
- What is Flock Safety?
- Flock Safety is a company that provides license plate reader cameras to law enforcement agencies across the United States. These cameras are designed to capture vehicle information, and the company's data handling practices are currently under scrutiny.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
2- Josh Hawley Launches Probe Into Flock Cameras (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Mo. Sen. Josh Hawley probing Flock as surveillance scrutiny grows (opens Spectrum Local News in a new tab)
Spectrum Local News — is Spectrum Local News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
7- Josh Hawley Launches Investigation Into Flock Over Surveillance Concerns (opens [your]NEWS in a new tab)
[your]NEWS — is [your]NEWS biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hawley opens investigation into Flock cameras (opens Washington Examiner in a new tab)
Washington Examiner — is Washington Examiner biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hawley launches investigation into Flock cameras’ massive surveillance program (opens NewsNation in a new tab)
NewsNation — is NewsNation biased? Our profile of this outlet
- GOP Senator Launches Investigation Into Flock Over Surveillance Concerns (opens The Daily Caller in a new tab)
The Daily Caller — is The Daily Caller biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Report: Sen. Hawley Opens Probe Into Flock Cameras (opens Newsmax in a new tab)
- Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley Probes Flock Safety Over Camera Network - Tampa Free Press (opens The Free Press (Tampa) in a new tab)
The Free Press (Tampa) — is The Free Press (Tampa) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Josh Hawley Launches Investigation Into Flock Over Surveillance Concerns (opens Independent Journal Review in a new tab)
Independent Journal Review — is Independent Journal Review biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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