A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers is pressing the Ohio Department of Transportation to stop issuing permits for Flock-style automated license-plate readers on state roads and to review permits already granted. State Reps. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood; Levi Dean, R-Xenia; Darnell Brewer, D-Cleveland; and Justin Pizzulli, R-Scioto County, outlined their demands in a letter to ODOT Director Pamela Boratyn. They asked the agency to revoke permits and remove cameras where legally permitted, reject future applications, and publish a list of authorized cameras, their owners and the terms of the agreements behind them. “The public right-of-way should not become free real estate for an unaccountable, privately operated surveillance network,” the lawmakers wrote. Flock Safety’s cameras photograph passing vehicles and record information such as license plates, vehicle make, model, color and other identifying features. Law enforcement agencies use the system to search for vehicles connected to investigations. Flock says its technology supported more than 1 million investigations in 2025. The company’s growing network has also raised concerns about privacy, oversight and the possibility of tracking people who are not suspected of wrongdoing. The Ohio lawmakers argue that the benefits of solving individual crimes must be weighed against the creation of a system capable of monitoring millions of drivers without a warrant or individualized suspicion. Dean separately plans to introduce legislation known as the Ohio Freedom from Mass Surveillance Act. The measure would prohibit agencies from using camera data without a warrant. The issue has become increasingly prominent in Ohio’s governor’s race. Democratic candidate Amy Acton initially praised the cameras’ role in investigations but later called for strict safeguards, saying the technology is vulnerable to misuse and poses serious privacy risks. Her campaign has backed blocking Flock permits on state highways and said she would support legislation banning the system statewide. Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said law enforcement should be able to prosecute crime quickly while respecting constitutional protections. He said Flock cameras should never be used to spy on people in private spaces, including their cars. Flock cameras, however, are designed to capture vehicle and license-plate information rather than images of people inside vehicles. Ramaswamy’s campaign did not clarify whether he opposes the cameras’ routine use in public places. Columbus has offered a recent example of the controversy. Mayor Andrew Ginther announced in late August that the city would strengthen oversight of its Flock network after police used the system to help solve violent crimes and locate missing people. Less than a week later, he paused the program after an investigation found that a Columbus police officer searched the same license plate 272 times between November 2023 and December 2024. “Until I can report out to the people of Columbus that this isn’t a more widespread issue,” Ginther said when announcing the pause, “I can’t, with confidence, ask them to trust us with this technology.” The Ohio lawmakers pointed to Florida, where transportation officials recently moved to revoke permits for similar cameras. They said Ohio drivers deserve comparable protections and called for public rules governing how traffic data may be searched, retained, shared and used. “Our roads belong to the public,” the representatives wrote. “They should not be used to quietly construct a statewide tracking network around the public.”