Florida Governor orders removal of automated license-plate cameras from state highways
Governor Ron DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Transportation to take down all Flock license-plate reader cameras from the state highway system within 30 days.
Governor Ron DeSantis issued a directive, obtained in a Florida Department of Transportation memorandum, mandating the removal of all Flock automated license-plate reader cameras from the state highway network, including major interstates like I-10 and I-75, within a 30-day window. The memo warns that any devices not taken down will be removed by state officials. Following the announcement, sheriff’s offices in Putnam, Liberty and Franklin counties announced they would end their own license-plate reader operations.
DeSantis argued that evidence of misuse—such as an officer allegedly tracking a personal acquaintance—justifies tighter controls, though he maintains support for law-enforcement tools. The order applies only to state-maintained rights-of-way, leaving city and county roads unaffected unless further legislation is passed. Future permits for such cameras will be denied, and the policy could be reversed by a subsequent administration. The governor also called for broader legislative action, including an AI bill of rights, to curb surveillance concerns.
Why it matters
It limits state-wide vehicle tracking, affecting privacy and law-enforcement practices across Florida.
How this story developed
- Jul 9 Flock Safety CEO brands transparency group as 'terrorist' amid AI camera controversy
- Aug 13 Flock Safety announced it will keep license-plate-reader footage for only seven days and require police to log a case code for every query.
- Aug 13 Former Bibb County sheriff’s deputies were arrested on stalking charges for using Flock license‑plate readers for personal purposes.
- Aug 13 Flock made its audit tool mandatory and reduced the default retention window to seven days.
- Aug 18 Incumbent Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that new data-center projects will no longer receive priority permits or tax breaks unless they cover their full electricity costs, limit water consumption and engage locally. In Texas, Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa aired a TV spot accusing Governor Greg Abbott of favoring data-center interests over rural communities. Similar moves are unfolding in Arizona, New York, Illinois and Ohio, where officials are imposing moratoriums or stricter standards on the industry.
- Aug 18 Park rangers reported Flock cameras appearing in several national forests.
- Aug 19 West Virginia legislator Chris Anders introduced a bill to ban Flock Safety cameras on constitutional grounds.
- Aug 21 New Bedford Police Department shut down its entire Flock camera system after discovering repeated unauthorized plate searches.
- Aug 26 Governor Shapiro signed an executive order ending fast‑track permitting for AI data‑center projects.
- Aug 26 Texas residents rallied at a Harris County meeting to demand stronger privacy protections for Flock cameras.
- Aug 26 A clerical error in Milwaukee’s Flock camera database led to a gunpoint traffic stop, prompting the driver to hire counsel and submit a notice of claim against the city and police department.
- Aug 28 Pflugerville, Texas voted to terminate its contract with Flock Safety and switched off all 28 cameras.
- Aug 30 Judge Lesa Gelb ruled that Salem Township’s planning commission violated Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act by excluding residents from a data‑center ordinance meeting.
- Aug 31 Senator Josh Hawley opened a Senate investigation into Flock Safety's data practices.
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