Tennessee needs strict rules on automated license plate readers, mass surveillance

I am a Georgetown-trained lawyer. For decades, I have practiced criminal defense and served as a public defender, standing beside everyday Tennesseans with not much more than the Constitution, facing the great power of the state of Tennessee. That is why I am concerned about the rapid expansion of Flock cameras across Tennessee. Let me be clear, I support law enforcement. Full stop. I support giving police the tools they need to solve violent crimes, find missing children and keep our communities safe. But public safety cannot become a blank check for mass surveillance. In Shelby County alone, the sheriff's office reports 178 Flock cameras and more than 900,000 vehicle detections in just one month. The data is retained for 30 days. And Memphis has hundreds of additional cameras operated by police, businesses, neighborhoods and other partners. Think about what that means. We aren't talking about following one suspect. We're talking about creating a record of where hundreds of thousands of ordinary Tennesseans drive. And the technology doesn't stop at Memphis. Flock's network now spans thousands of communities across the country. Law-enforcement agencies can share information across jurisdictions, creating a surveillance network far larger than any one city or county. That should concern conservatives who believe in limited government. It should concern progressives who believe in civil liberties. And it should concern anyone who believes that innocent people shouldn't have to surrender their rights simply because they drove down the road. More than 50 jurisdictions have ended their relationships with the Flock for a reason. And because of the mounting public pressure, they have recently announced that it would shorten its default data-retention period from 30 days to seven and strengthen auditing requirements after mounting concerns about misuse. Those changes are welcome. But they also make the point for us. If safeguards are necessary, then safeguards should be required — not optional. Tennessee needs clear statewide rules governing automated license plate readers. We need limits on how long data can be stored. We need transparency about who can access it and when. We need meaningful audits and real consequences when someone abuses the system. And we need clear limits on sharing information outside the agency or jurisdiction that collected it. Because the issue isn't only what government can do with this technology today, it's what government could do with it tomorrow. The Fourth Amendment exists because our founders understood that government power must have boundaries. Technology doesn't change that principle. It makes it more important. We can give police the tools they need to solve crimes. And we can protect the constitutional freedoms that make Tennessee worth protecting in the first place. As governor, I will do both. Because Tennesseans deserve to be safe from criminals — and safe from government overreach. We don't have to choose. Jerri Green is the Tennessee Democratic candidate for governor.