Florida Bans Flock Cameras From State Highways Amid Raging Privacy Debate

Florida is ordering the removal of AI-powered Flock license plate readers, and similar devices, from state roads amid privacy concerns surrounding the collection of the data and potential abuses. On Monday, the Florida Department of Transportation issued a memorandum revoking permits for the use of Flock’s automated license plate recognition systems, LPR. The state ordered local police departments to remove the devices within 30 days.“Recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes merit immediate action to preserve Floridians’ sovereignty and quality of life,” the memo states. On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters, “What we don’t want in the state of Florida is to have a digital AI surveillance state where everything we’re doing is being tracked at all times.”Mr. DeSantis, who has pushed for other restrictions on AI, has been raising concerns about the devices in recent days. Last week, he told attendees at a Miami event that law enforcement should “go after criminals,” but said he was concerned that LPRs were “surveilling just regular Floridians’ movements,” and that the data could be misused.A Florida sheriff, Eric Aden, of Okaloosa County, said in a statement that the order to remove the devices is “disappointing from a public safety standpoint.”“It’s been a valuable tool in solving crime and protecting lives,” Mr. Aden said. Law enforcement officials say the network of thousands of LPRs has been useful in catching criminals. Last year, the Providence police chief, Oscar Perez Jr., said that Flock cameras helped law enforcement officials track the gunman behind a shooting at Brown University. Mr. Perez said the cameras detected the gunman’s rental car more than a dozen times in the weeks leading up to the shooting, and the data helped investigators find where the car was rented, which led to them discovering the gunman’s name. The order to remove the devices from Florida state roads comes as cities around the country have been terminating contracts with Flock at a record rate. An Oakland-based advocacy organization, Secure Justice, published data showing that 214 cities and counties have terminated Flock contracts since 2021, and that 90 contracts were terminated in August 2026. Despite the uptick in cities ending their contracts, a spokeswoman for Flock, Courtney Terlecki, did not appear concerned, telling Ars Technica that “new city partnerships have outpaced nonrenewals by approximately 10 to one.”While the presence of Flock cameras has expanded, residents have expressed privacy concerns. The ACLU explains that the cameras track every vehicle that crosses in front of it and catalogs details such as make, model, and color, and uploads the data to a national database that can be accessed by any law enforcement agency that has a contract with Flock. In recent weeks, there have been several news stories about police officers improperly accessing Flock data to track individuals. Last week, a Kentucky police officer was arrested after the department accused him of improperly accessing Flock data more than 2,000 times to track his ex-girlfriend. Flock’s CEO, Garret Langley, has defended the devices. Last month, Mr. Langley apologized for incidents of the data being misused, saying it “kills me” to hear victims’ stories. Flock announced new protections, such as limiting how long data can be stored, and new tools to flag abnormal searches. Mr. Langley also told Fox News last month that he believes Americans are “prioritizing the wrong thing” in the debate surrounding LPRs and that they should prioritize “compromise” and balancing privacy and safety.

Florida Bans Flock Cameras From State Highways Amid Raging Privacy Debate

Florida Bans Flock Cameras From State Highways Amid Raging Privacy Debate

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