Florida and Texas move to block Flock cameras over privacy concerns

The states of Florida and Texas are moving to end their relationship with surveillance giant Flock, as the company faces increasing backlash over privacy concerns and misuse of its tracking technology.

Florida’s Department of Transportation said in a memo on Monday that it will cease using license plate readers across the state’s highways, such as Flock’s cameras, citing “concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes.” The state now has 30 days to remove the cameras.

The decision comes days after Florida governor Ron DeSantis called the license plate reading technology “out of control” in remarks during a press conference last Wednesday.

Florida follows similar action by Texas, which last week ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras. Texas governor Greg Abbott’s office cited abuse of the surveillance system, including the recent indictment of a Lufkin, Texas police officer with 100 felony counts related to allegedly searching Flock’s database to track people without authorization.

Abbott’s office did not say which agencies would be affected, but local media reports that Dallas could be broadly affected, as officials say there are hundreds of Flock cameras operating throughout the city.

The move comes amid rising bipartisan concerns over privacy and civil liberties concerns, following reports of cybersecurity issues, police abusing their access to Flock’s database to stalk their ex-partners, and accuracy issues that have led to police stops and wrongful arrests. Recent reporting shows that Flock cameras are moving away from scanning license plates and are also working to identify and track people.

Flock currently has around 130,000 license plate readers across the United States. The company has faced pushback from communities whose residents say they do not want Flock in their neighborhoods. Several towns, including Evanston, Ill., Cambridge, Mass., and Eugene, Ore., reported that Flock reinstalled or reactivated their cameras, despite local officials terminating their contracts with the company.

TechCrunch contacted Flock to ask if the company plans to allow Florida and Texas to remove their cameras, or if Flock plans to reinstall or reactivate them. A Flock spokesperson did not respond to our request for comment.