The pushback came during the public comment period, where four residents asked council members not to renew agreements with private tech vendors like Flock and Axon. (Photo: City of Moorhead)
MOORHEAD, Minn. (KFGO) – A handful of residents urged the Moorhead City Council on Monday night to cancel contracts for automated license plate readers, arguing the surveillance technology violates privacy and risks innocent lives.
During the public comment period, four residents asked council members not to renew agreements with private tech vendors like Flock and Axon.
Resident Catherine Ferguson pointed to a recent case in Fargo where Angela Lipps was wrongfully arrested following a facial recognition error. While automated license plate readers scan vehicles rather than faces, Ferguson argued that mass tracking tools create serious risks for ordinary citizens.
“It’s not about having something to hide,” Ferguson said. “It’s about being able to go about our daily lives without having our movements routinely documented and made searchable”.
Nathaniel Boyd, a local engineer, compared automated tracking to Ray Bradbury’s classic story “The Pedestrian,” where an automated police car stops a man simply for walking at night. Boyd noted that plate readers log driver data regardless of whether a crime has occurred.
The council took no immediate action on the contracts Monday. Officials said city staff would follow up on the concerns raised by the public.
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