Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona’s GOP candidate for governor, calls Flock cameras ‘Big Brother-ish’

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, the Republican nominee for governor in Arizona, said Friday he thinks Flock cameras are too intrusive.

“I think we’ve reached the point where we have to pull the plug on Flock cameras,” Biggs told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

Biggs did not specifically say he would back legislation to ban automated license plate readers during Friday’s interview. But at an Aug. 25 public safety town hall, he said, “The state will probably have to step in and say, ‘We’re not going to have Flock cameras.’”

Biggs said Friday he wants to make sure law enforcement agencies have the funding and equipment they need to do their jobs.

“But Flock cameras, that’s just too Big Brother-ish,” he said.

What does Biggs’ opponent, Gov. Katie Hobbs, think about Flock cameras?

Gov. Katie Hobbs, Biggs’ Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 general election, told KTAR News’ Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos on Aug. 27 that while she thinks the surveillance technology needs guardrails, she opposes a full statewide ban.

“I trust our local leaders and law enforcement and elected officials at the city level to make these determinations for what’s best for their communities,” she said.

Multiple Arizona jurisdictions have recently turned off their plate reading cameras and ended their contracts with Flock Safety over concerns about privacy and the potential for the technology to be misused.

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