Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, sent letters to the chief executives of Motorola Solutions, Verkada and Axon in early September 2026, expanding an investigation he had previously directed at Flock Safety’s camera network to three additional companies that operate AI-assisted surveillance camera systems. The letters gave the companies until September 16 to respond.
According to Hawley’s office, the letters state that the companies “are building large camera networks, assisted by artificial intelligence, that intrude on the privacy of all Americans.” The senator requested information on the geographic scope of searches customers can run for vehicle or driver data, how long that data is retained, confirmed cases of misuse since 2021, and the safeguards governing who can search the systems and why.
Why it matters
The probe puts four of the largest AI-assisted camera and license-plate-recognition networks under the same congressional scrutiny at once, and the specific questions — retention periods, search scope, documented misuse — track closely with the data-governance practices state and local agencies are increasingly asked to justify when they deploy these systems.
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