A Florida cop used Flock's cameras to stalk his ex-girlfriend across state highways.
Ron DeSantis just became the first governor in America to rip those cameras off state highways entirely.
What DeSantis found out about where that data actually goes at night is the reason he's not waiting on the legislature.
Police Used Flock License Plate Readers to Stalk and Track Private Citizens
Flock Safety sells itself as a crime-fighting miracle – 120,000 cameras installed across America, a $7.5 billion valuation, and the claim its technology helps solve 10 percent of all reported crime in the country.
What the company doesn't put in the press releases is the growing list of officers who turned those cameras on the wrong people.
Officers in Massachusetts and Georgia have been charged for using Flock data to stalk people they knew personally.
A Louisiana police department fired an officer who ran Flock searches on private citizens without authorization.
In Texas, a Lufkin police officer was indicted on 100 felony counts for running secret searches through Flock's database.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had seen enough.
Abbott cut off all state funding for Flock camera programs in Texas, citing the mounting abuse cases as the tipping point.
Florida's governor had been watching the same pattern.
"We know there was an officer in Florida who was using the LPR data to track, like, an ex-girlfriend or something like that," DeSantis said at his press conference. "I don't think we have really strong penalties at all for that type of misuse."
DeSantis has pushed for an artificial intelligence Bill of Rights for Floridians – a measure that failed to advance in the state legislature.
More than 100 local governments across the country have dropped or walked away from license plate reader contracts in the past year.
DeSantis Sets 30-Day Deadline to Remove License Plate Readers as Hawley Demands Privacy Answers
Florida's Department of Transportation revoked all active license plate reader permits on August 31, clearing every camera from the state highway rights-of-way in a single directive.
Law enforcement agencies have 30 days – until September 30 – to pull every camera down.
If agencies miss the deadline, FDOT crews will dismantle the cameras themselves.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters didn't wait for the deadline.
"Given the decision made at the state level and the concerns expressed by members of our community, I have determined that discontinuing the use of this technology is the appropriate course of action at this time," Waters said, going beyond the state mandate to remove cameras from county roads as well.
Several county sheriff's departments across Florida followed within hours.
When roughly 700 cameras come down by the deadline, Florida becomes the first state to pull license plate readers from its highway rights-of-way by executive order.
DeSantis wasn't just focused on rogue officers.
"If you want to get in your car and you want to go down to Buc-ee's in St. Augustine, it's really none of the government's damn business," DeSantis said at his press conference.
The data question fired him up more.
"Where is this data going? They claim that the companies aren't going to misuse it, but no one's watching that," he said. "And I know you can make some money selling cameras, but you really can make a lot of money if you can sell people's data."
Flock Safety is sitting on billions of license plate scans every month, with no federal law governing what happens to any of it after it's captured.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri launched a Senate investigation into Flock Safety last week, demanding internal documents and asking directly who has access to that location data and how long the company retains it.
Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida called for strong legislative penalties against misuse, warning that current law leaves gaps the company and bad actors in law enforcement are already exploiting.
Flock pushed back in a statement to Fox News, insisting its cameras help find missing children, catch murder suspects, and recover stolen vehicles.
That argument doesn't touch where the data goes after the missing child is found.
DeSantis has called for legislation to make the ban permanent – his executive memo alone can be reversed by the next governor the week they take office.
Florida conservatives in Tallahassee have their assignment.
The question is whether they act before Flock Safety figures out who the next governor will be.
Sources:
- Kristen Altus, "Florida Bans Flock Safety Cameras from State Roads over Privacy Fears," Fox Business, September 1, 2026.
- Susan Ferrechio, "DeSantis Bans Flock Cameras on State Roads in Florida," Washington Times, August 31, 2026.
- "DeSantis Moves To De-Flock State Highways," Daily Caller, August 31, 2026.
