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Florida and Texas move to block Flock cameras over privacy concerns
**Flock surveillance cameras face Florida Texas ban amid privacy backlash and police misuse concerns** Florida and Texas are severing ties with surveillance technology company Flock, citing widespread privacy violations and abuse of its license plate reader systems. Florida’s Department of Transportation issued a memo Monday ordering the removal of all Flock cameras from state highways within 30 days, referencing "concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes." The decision follows Governor Ron DeSantis calling the technology "out of control" during a press conference last Wednesday. Texas took similar action last week, with Governor Greg Abbott’s office directing state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras after a Lufkin police officer was indicted on 100 felony counts for allegedly using Flock’s database to track individuals without authorization. Local media reports indicate Dallas could be broadly affected, with hundreds of Flock cameras operating across the city. The bipartisan backlash comes amid growing civil liberties concerns, including reports of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, officers stalking ex-partners through the system, and accuracy issues leading to wrongful arrests. Recent reporting shows Flock cameras are expanding beyond license plate scanning to identify and track people. Flock currently operates approximately 130,000 license plate readers nationwide. Several communities—including Evanston, Illinois; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Eugene, Oregon—have reported that Flock reinstalled or reactivated cameras after local officials terminated contracts. TechCrunch sought comment from Flock regarding whether it will comply with removal orders or attempt to reinstall cameras, but the company did not respond.