MapQuest Maps License Plate Readers Amid Flock Backlash

MapQuest added a Surveillance Layer to its mapping app, plotting the locations of automated license plate readers across U.S. roads. The feature allows drivers to see where cameras from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions’ Vigilant, Axon and Verkada are positioned, dropping the legacy navigation service into an escalating national fight over roadside surveillance.

The company announced the toggle on Bluesky. A demo video showed dense clusters of eye-shaped icons around Los Angeles’ Marina del Rey neighborhood, each paired with a red cone marking the direction a camera faces. MapQuest did not disclose where the location data comes from or how frequently it updates the map.

Beyond Flock Safety, the layer covers hardware from Genetec, Axis Communications, Leonardo’s ELSAG, Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart and Ubicquia. “The Roads Have Eyes!” the company wrote in its post.

Automated license plate readers photograph passing vehicles and convert plates into searchable data. Flock’s AI-powered cameras log additional details, including make, model, color and bumper stickers. These systems can be networked so agencies share access nationwide. Critics say that architecture enables warrantless tracking of ordinary drivers. Flock is also developing an artificial intelligence tool designed to help police track drivers without license plate data or a name.

The timing aligns with legislative pressure. Earlier this month, lawmakers introduced the Ban Flock Act, which seeks to prohibit federal agencies from using the technology. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who pushed the legislation, previously called in late August to “stop Flock and AI mass surveillance.”

State-level action preceded the federal push. In late August, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras after the Texas Tribune found that a state agency had steered at least $30 million toward the network.

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Flock CEO Garrett Langley responded to the mounting public backlash by asking Americans to compromise on privacy in exchange for safety. President Donald Trump praised the company’s cameras in mid-September.

The hardware has drawn cultural pushback alongside political scrutiny. A Grand Theft Auto mod now lets players destroy Flock cameras in-game.

Drivers using the new MapQuest feature can attempt to plan routes around known devices. The map only reflects cameras that have been identified, leaving many destinations impossible to reach without passing one.