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Florida and Texas move to eliminate Flock surveillance cameras over privacy abuses

Confirmed1 source · Sep 1, 2026

Two major states are ending contracts with license plate reader company Flock amid reports of police misuse, data breaches, and wrongful arrests.

Florida and Texas move to eliminate Flock surveillance cameras over privacy abuses
Image via TechCrunch

What happened

Florida's Department of Transportation announced Monday it will cease using Flock license plate readers across state highways within 30 days, citing misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes. Texas last week ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras following the indictment of a Lufkin police officer on 100 felony counts for allegedly using Flock's database to track people without authorization. Governor Ron DeSantis called the technology out of control, while Governor Greg Abbott's office cited abuse of the surveillance system. The moves follow reports of cybersecurity issues, police using access to stalk ex-partners, and accuracy problems leading to wrongful arrests.

Context

Flock operates approximately 130,000 license plate readers nationwide and is expanding beyond license plate scanning to identify and track people. The company has faced community resistance, with several towns reporting that Flock reinstalled or reactivated cameras despite terminated contracts. The coordinated action by Florida and Texas represents significant erosion of state-level support for Flock's technology, raising the question of whether the company will comply with removal orders or attempt reinstatement as it has done elsewhere. Police abuse of the database access and documented accuracy issues that led to wrongful stops underscore civil liberties risks at stake in broad adoption of the technology.