Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered all state agencies to stop funding Flock Safety’s AI-powered license plate readers; the decision comes as the cameras face national scrutiny over privacy concerns.
The announcement came just as The Texas Tribune was reportedly preparing to publish an investigation detailing how a state agency had devoted at least $30 million to building up the state’s Flock surveillance network through grants to local police departments.
The money traced back to legislation that put a $1 fee onto Texas auto insurance policies, originally intended to combat catalytic converter theft. That funding, distributed through the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, helped purchase roughly 2,000 Flock cameras, while the Texas Department of Public Safety received an additional $15.9 million to buy about 1,200 more.
A spokesperson for Abbott stated that nearly all Flock cameras in Texas are purchased by cities through federal funding but said that state agencies are clarifying that their funds cannot be used for Flock cameras.
The order does not immediately ban every Flock camera in Texas or force local departments to shut down devices bought with local, federal or private money.
The decision follows a wave of controversy nationally. In Lufkin, Texas, a police officer was indicted in April on 100 counts of misusing Flock data, while the city of Tempe, Arizona, canceled its own $80,000 contract with the company this week over similar abuse concerns. In a radio interview, Abbott described a “crackdown” underway across the state as cities and counties cancel Flock contracts amid resident privacy complaints.
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