A growing bipartisan backlash against Flock Safety's automated license plate readers has prompted states and municipalities to dismantle their surveillance networks. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have restricted the cameras on state roads, while local councils in Virginia and Florida are canceling contracts amid privacy concerns and reports of police misuse. Concurrently, a bipartisan U.S. House bill threatens to strip federal highway funding from states that fail to restrict the technology.
Flock camera removal efforts
- ▪The Florida Department of Transportation issued an order revoking permits for automated license plate recognition systems, including Flock Safety cameras, located within state highway rights-of-way.
- ▪Jefferson County Sheriff Mac McNeill announced on August 31, 2026 that the rural Florida county would discontinue its Flock Safety camera program and deactivate its 44 cameras.
- ▪Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the state's transportation department on August 31, 2026 to remove Flock Safety cameras from state roads.
- ▪Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Transportation to stop issuing permits for Flock Safety cameras and other automated license plate readers along state roads.
- ▪The Arlington County Board in Virginia voted on September 15, 2026 to end its contract with Flock Safety, while neighboring Fairfax County paused its cameras for a review.
Federal No FLOCK Act
- ▪The proposed No FLOCK Act would restrict the use of Flock Safety cameras to five specific use cases, excluding traffic studies, minor drug crimes, and parking enforcement.
- ▪U.S. Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Michael Cloud planned to introduce the bipartisan No FLOCK Act to strip 10 percent of federal highway funding from states failing to restrict license plate readers.
- ▪A separate bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Congress proposed a complete ban on using federal funding to purchase Flock Safety cameras.
Surveillance capabilities exposed
- ▪Flock Safety compiles captured vehicle images and data into a searchable database sold to police departments, contributing to the company's $8.4 billion valuation.
- ▪An analysis of a reverse-engineered Flock Safety camera by the hacker collective stegan0gram revealed the devices capture millions of images, including people, bicycles, and bumper stickers.
Community privacy backlash
- ▪Opponents of Flock Safety cameras cite privacy concerns and reports of police officers being arrested or investigated for misusing the database to stalk individuals.
- ▪Residents in rural Jefferson County, Florida expressed outrage after discovering a dense network of 44 Flock Safety cameras had been installed without public notification or votes.
Law enforcement data sharing
- ▪Flock Safety camera data from Alpharetta, Georgia, a city of 67,000 people, is accessible to more than 2,000 external agencies, including airports and federal inspectors.
- ▪Despite local legislative bans on sharing data, some local police officers have performed Flock Safety database lookups on behalf of federal immigration authorities.
Debatable claims
- ▪Law enforcement agencies should stop using Flock Safety cameras
- ▪Congress should withhold highway funding from states that fail to restrict license plate readers
- ▪Local governments should obtain public approval before deploying automated surveillance cameras
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