What are ALPRs? Automated License Plate Readers are cameras that scan every car that passes and log the plate, location, and timestamp. In South Carolina, over 1,000 of these cameras sit on public roads, operated by a private company called Flock Safety. Over 99% of the plates they capture belong to people not suspected of any crime. How big is the problem? SLED's statewide database has logged over 422 million plate reads, and the data is kept for three years. Flock's network lets hundreds of outside agencies - including federal ones - search your location history without a warrant. In 2025, Flock secretly gave Border Patrol access to local police cameras nationwide without telling any of those agencies. South Carolina has zero laws governing how this data is collected, shared, or deleted. Why should I care? Every trip you take is permanently recorded: doctor visits, church services, political events, school pickups. In Greenville, two sisters were pulled over at gunpoint because a Flock camera wrongly flagged their rental car as stolen. A SLED officer used the database to search for his own vehicle and falsified the record. This technology creates a detailed map of your daily life, and the people who control it have already shown they can't be trusted with it. What can I do? Contact your state legislators and ask them to support ALPR regulation bills with real retention limits and penalties for misuse. Attend your city council meeting and ask who approved data-sharing agreements with outside agencies. File a public records request for your city's full Flock contract. Talk to your neighbors. Visit deflocksc.org to find your reps and send a letter.