President Trump on Sunday told reporters that he likes the controversial license plate-reading Flock cameras on roads across the country.
Concerns have been raised by Americans about the right to privacy and unwarranted surveillance on ordinary motorists, tracking their every move and storing the information in a database.
Several Republican lawmakers and state officials have also expressed opposition to the technology.
When asked about the cameras on Sunday, Trump said, “I sort of like them because of that,” noting that law enforcement uses them to apprehend suspects.
“I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement, but some people don’t,” Trump said.
“They think it’s an infringement, but I like them.”
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The President previously broke his silence on the issue during an August 17 Oval Office press conference, telling reporters, “it’s being studied right now.”
“You have pros and cons, right?” Trump added. “It’s being studied right now. We’ll have an answer, sort of, as to our views on it over the next couple of weeks.”
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Concerns have also arisen over potential abuse of the technology.
As previously reported, five police officers in Georgia were arrested last month for misusing license plate data after they “accessed the Flock system on multiple occasions and utilized the retained license plate data for non-law enforcement purposes,” according to officials.
Five Police Officers Arrested and Fired After Abusing Flock Surveillance Cameras
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