4 CEOs, 1 date, 0 subpoenas. Wednesday they sit — or they don’t.
On Sep 18, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, invited the CEOs of four AI camera makers to testify in Washington. The hearing — “Always Watching: Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network” — is scheduled for Wednesday, Sep 23, 2026, at 10:00 ET Sen. Hawley, 18-Sep-2026.
The invitees: Garrett Langley (Flock Safety), Rick Smith (Axon Enterprise), Greg Brown (Motorola Solutions), Filip Kaliszan (Verkada). The operative word: invitation, not subpoena. Hawley extended it publicly via social media The Hill, 18-Sep-2026.
The numbers already in the record: 120,000 Flock cameras across 49 states, 20 billion plate reads per month Hawley Daily Wire op-ed via Political.org, 18-Sep-2026. More than 170 contracts cancelled with Flock Safety, per DeFlock [The Hill, 18-Sep-2026].
What’s already on the public record, by vendor:
| Vendor | Who confirmed | Who didn’t respond |
|---|---|---|
| Flock Safety | (no corporate statement published as of this post’s close) | Press calls and emails unanswered Daily Caller News Foundation, 18-Sep-2026 |
| Axon Enterprise | — | No immediate comment [The Hill, 18-Sep-2026] |
| Motorola Solutions | — | No immediate comment [The Hill, 18-Sep-2026] |
| Verkada | “We are in communication with the Subcommittee and are providing information […] none of our customers can search a national Verkada network — because none exists. Our customers can only access the data in their own systems” [The Hill, 18-Sep-2026] | — |
The lesson a procurement officer anywhere should carry: when a U.S. Senate subcommittee names a vendor by name and by date, that vendor’s public response in the next 96 hours is exactly the response a local buyer can demand in writing in the next RFP. If Flock, Axon, or Motorola won’t give Hawley documents, they won’t give your auditor logins.
P.D. How many of your RFPs in the last 24 months have the vendor’s answer in writing — not in a brochure — to four regulatory questions: data retention, cross-jurisdiction access, false-positive rate, and audit process? If the answer is “fewer than four”, Wednesday Sep 23 gives you the language to ask.
📰 Source: Sen. Hawley press release + The Hill + Political.org + Daily Caller News Foundation + Washington Times, all Sep 18, 2026.
Sources
[1] Sen. Hawley press release Sep 18 2026 — https://hawley.senate.gov/chairman-hawley-invites-ceos-of-flock-competitors-to-testify-next-week [2] The Hill Sep 18 2026 — https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6099368-hawley-invites-flock-ai-surveillance-ceos [3] Political.org Sep 18 2026 — https://political.org/2026/09/18/flock-safety-ceo-garrett-langley-axon-motorola-and-verkada-chiefs-called-to-testify-before-senate-over-ai-license-plate-camera-privacy-concerns [4] Daily Caller News Foundation Sep 18 2026 — https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2026/09/18/josh-hawley-asks-surveillance-ceos-to-testify-as-industry-faces-privacy [5] Washington Times Sep 18 2026 — https://washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/18/senate-grill-ceos-flock-surveillance-camera-networks