Hawley expands investigation of companies operating public camera networks

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has expanded his investigation into the Flock camera network to include three other companies that operate camera networks.

Hawley on Tuesday sent letters to Motorola Solutions, Verkada and Axon, giving them until Sept. 16 to provide certain documents and information for his investigation. Hawley, a Missouri Republican, chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism

Hawley's office announced the subcommittee's investigation into Flock on Aug. 26. Hawley says he's demanding answers about how companies that operate public surveillance camera networks will protect Americans' personal information, such as their license plates.

ABC 17 News uses cameras on the Verkada network for its live weather cameras.

Numerous local governments have canceled their Flock contracts, including the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office. A movement has also formed in Columbia to call for the termination of the city's Flock contract.

In his letter, Hawley references multiple cases where police officers misused or abused the information provided by the Flock license plate reader camera system.

"To be sure, I want law enforcement to have tools to catch offenders and keep the public safe," Hawley wrote. "But the surveillance network your company has constructed raises legitimate concerns about how little-known corporations possess intimate knowledge of Americans' lives, fueled by invasive artificial intelligence algorithms."

No hearings have been set.