Flock cameras, which are installed on public streets to track cars, license plates and provide other surveillance, are helpful to law enforcement. But privacy and civil rights advocates are concerned, as the data the cameras gather has been used by immigration authorities and others in ways that raise questions. And advocates for legal abortion fear the cameras may be used to track women who seek abortions in Ohio.
Texas officials used data from thousands of Flock cameras nationwide to track a woman in 2025, according to a report from 404 Media. Almost all abortions are banned in Texas. A sheriff said the woman's family was concerned for her health and safety after a self-administered abortion. But pro-choice activists are worried.
“The concern is a person who is leaving a state where abortion is illegal and coming to Columbus to get the abortion care they deserve should not be followed into our city by this dragnet surveillance system that we have," said Jaime Miracle, deputy director of Abortion Forward.
Abortion has been legal in Ohio since voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access and reproductive rights in 2023. Lawsuits over various laws restricting abortion are still working through the courts. But the state's annual abortion report showed 20.9% of abortions in 2025 were performed on out-of-state patients.
Miracle was among those who testified at a public hearing Monday on Flock cameras held by the city of Columbus, as it tries to find a balance between using the system as an important crime-fighting tool without infringing on a person’s civil liberties. Columbus police pulled out of the national network of Flock data sharing in July, and Mayor Andrew Ginther ordered a halt to statewide sharing of data. But the city still has individual agreements with more than 400 different law enforcement entities in Ohio and across the nation where they share our data.
Police agencies say the cameras are valuable crime-fighting tools when used properly. Gov. Mike DeWine, a strongly anti-abortion Republican, agreed and said the system shouldn’t be scrapped because of a few cases of the camera system being used improperly.
“This is a tool that’s used by law enforcement every single day, and people are picked up and brought in who you never would have caught any other way," DeWine told reporters when asked about the cameras. "There can be abuses, and when there are abuses, we have got to take action."
There are thousands of Flock cameras throughout Ohio, including those used by state agencies and universities.
