Flock Safety hired two new lobbying firms and significantly increased its federal lobbying spending in recent months as backlash to its AI-powered vehicle-surveillance technology boiled over.
Flock spent $360,000 lobbying federal lawmakers and regulators from the beginning of July through the end of September, up from $210,000 during the same period in 2025, according to new disclosures filed this week under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
In mid-August, the company also hired a team of Democratic lobbyists at Invariant and others from the boutique Republican lobbying firm Off Hill Strategies.
Invariant reported receiving $90,000 through the end of September to “educate policymakers about the use of public safety technology,” and Off Hill Strategies received $50,000 to lobby on “appropriate federal guardrails for ALPR technology.”
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The company is facing increasing scrutiny from Congress for its extensive data collection system and misuse by law enforcement that’s led in some cases to false accusations.
A Flock spokesperson said the company backs further regulations.
“For more than four years, Flock has been at the table with policymakers supporting stronger regulations around the use of license plate reader technology,” Paris Lewbel, a spokesperson for Flock, wrote in a statement to The Washington Sun. “We believe in thoughtful, bipartisan legislation that puts strong privacy, transparency, and accountability measures in place.”
Dozens of cities and counties across the country, including Arlington County, Virginia, have paused or canceled contracts with Flock since July, according to the advocacy group DeFlock the USA.
At a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing last month, Chair Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and other lawmakers called for legislation to place guardrails on the technology and expressed frustration that executives at Flock and other companies had not accepted the committee’s invitations to testify.
The addition of Invariant and Off Hill Strategies to Flock’s lobbying roster bolstered its existing influence operation. Flock hired its first federal lobbying firms, BGR Government Affairs and Mercury Public Affairs, in December 2024, just before Trump took office, and spent $840,000 on federal lobbying in 2025.
BGR reported receiving $90,000 to “provide strategic counsel and advocate on issues related to public safety and security” with Congress, the White House, the Justice Department and the Department of Transportation. Mercury Public Affairs reported receiving $120,000 to lobby Congress and the White House Office of Administration on safety and security issues.
Flock also paid Modern Fortis $10,000 to lobby the Justice Department on “utilization of LPR cameras,” the lobbying firm recently reported. Carlough Solutions reported receiving $20,000 to lobby the House specifically on issues related to public safety and security in the fiscal year 2027 appropriations bill.
“Engaging with federal lawmakers is a natural extension of that commitment, and we will continue to support efforts to establish clear, meaningful safeguards for public safety technology,” Lewbel said in the statement.
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