Texas Governor Bans Funding for Flock Cameras Amidst National Concerns
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Abbott bars Texas agencies from funding Flock cameras Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered all state agencies this week to halt funding for Flock cameras amid growing concerns nationwide about the misuse of the roadside camera network. The decision, which was communicated to state agencies on Thursday evening, came as The Texas Tribune said it was preparing to publish an investigation into the…
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BreitbartAbbott’s Communications Director, Andrew Mahaleris, told the Tribune, “To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government. To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras.”
Fox NewsTexas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to pause funding Thursday for AI-powered Flock cameras, which have come under scrutiny nationwide amid privacy concerns.
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Texas funding led to the purchase of about 2,000 Flock Cameras by the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Board, the Tribune reported. The State funded an additional $15.9 million to Texas DPS to purchase an additional 1,200 cameras.
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Fox NewsThe Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, a Texas state agency created to combat vehicle theft, burglaries and fraud-related motor vehicle crimes, helped state and local agencies install more than 3,000 Flock cameras since 2023, according to the Tribune.
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To solve crime, Flock has built the most expansive surveillance system ever deployed in the United States with 120,000 cameras in 49 states. Criticism over the mass surveillance has emerged from both sides of the aisle as Americans digest whether the cameras are worth their benefit.
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Fox News"Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network," Hawley previously told Fox News Digital. "They boast more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month."
VoxFor many Americans, his warning was no exaggeration: There are now 120,000 Flock cameras on US roads. You can use the crowdsourced map DeFlock to check your area.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Fox News Flock Safety is one of the most widely used providers of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in Texas. The cameras photograph passing vehicles and record identifying information. Using artificial intelligence, the cameras can detect vehicle characteristics such as make, model and color, as well as features including bumper stickers or dents.
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02 The Hill Tempe mayor on move to cancel Flock cameras: ‘Potential for misuse was too great’ Corey Woods (D), the mayor of Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday defended his decision to cancel the city police department’s $80,000 contract with Flock Safety, a top automated license plate reader company, amid reported misuse of its products. “The concern that we had was just that the potential for misuse was too great,” he told NewsNation’s…
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03 Breitbart The order from the Texas governor came Thursday, shortly after an investigation published by the Texas Tribune came online. The investigation revealed that the State of Texas added a $1 fee to car insurance policies. That money was then distributed to local law enforcement agencies to help reduce catalytic converter thefts.
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04 Washington Times Could security cameras at gun shops become a backdoor gun registry? The National Rifle Association says it’s a real danger, even though federal law bans the government from keeping one.
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05 The Daily Wire Cities across the country are giving in as residents eagerly push for the removal of Flock cameras, but after the cameras were taken down in some cities, multiple crimes remain unsolved.
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06 Vox I passed five Flock cameras on my drive to work today, entirely without realizing it. The AI-powered license plate readers have metastasized on light poles and roadside posts across the country over the past few years, building a vast national database of vehicle movements that law enforcement agencies can access with few restrictions.
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- dailywire
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- thehill
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- washtimes