Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick wants the federal government to set standards for the license plate reader cameras spreading across Bucks County.

Roughly 60 automated license plate readers (ALPRs) have been mapped across the county, according to DeFlock, a crowdsourced tracking project. That count, reported by BUCKSCO.Today as of Aug. 11, was still growing. Four new readers appeared that week alone.

New Britain Township installed its own Flock Safety system in June 2025. Police Chief Richard Clowser told the Board of Supervisors on Aug. 20 that the cameras had helped resolve more than 20 incidents. "These systems collect and identify license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions, not people," Clowser said.

Fitzpatrick, the Republican incumbent in Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District, sent a letter in late August to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson. He asked both agencies to establish clear federal rules for AI-powered license plate reader systems like Flock, The Center Square first reported.

His Democratic challenger, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Center Square about his position on Flock cameras.

Fitzpatrick framed his push around a Bucks County family. He said the Zezzo family approached him after their teenage daughter endured years of cyberstalking, an experience that led him to author the bipartisan Combat Online Predators Act, signed into law in 2020. He wrote on Facebook that the same surveillance technology now poses new risks, saying documented cases show it has been used to track women, former partners and others for unauthorized purposes.

The issue is drawing bipartisan scrutiny beyond Bucks County. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism is holding a hearing Wednesday, Sept. 23, titled "Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network." Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who chairs the subcommittee, has said Flock operates roughly 120,000 cameras across 49 states and conducts 20 billion vehicle scans per month, according to The Hill.

A Data for Progress poll conducted in August found 41 percent of respondents viewed Flock cameras unfavorably. Opposition crossed party lines: 40 percent of Democrats and 39 percent of Republicans held unfavorable views, according to Roll Call.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said in late August he would welcome bipartisan legislation to ban the cameras statewide. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Shapiro's Republican challenger for governor, called them "an intrusive invasion of privacy" in early September. President Donald Trump has said he supports the cameras, citing law enforcement use.

Bucks County state Rep. Jim Prokopiak is among the co-sponsors of a Pennsylvania House proposal aimed at protecting residents from misuse of license plate reader data. Sixteen states already have laws addressing ALPR use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. No response from the DOJ or FTC to Fitzpatrick's letter has been reported.