As Public Fury Mounts, Texas Pulls the Plug on Flock Surveillance Funding

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock Safety’s AI-powered surveillance cameras, the latest blow to the license-plate-reader company as backlash over its nationwide network intensifies.

Abbott issued the directive Thursday night, his office confirmed to the Texas Tribune, which reported the move as it prepared to publish an investigation showing a state agency had steered at least $30 million toward building out Texas’s Flock network through grants to local police.

Spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris told the Tribune that agencies are clarifying that state funds cannot be used for Flock cameras, noting most city funding for the devices comes from the federal government.

According to the Tribune, the state’s Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority has helped install at least 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023, with the Department of Public Safety adding nearly 1,200 more under a $15.9 million contract. Much of that money traced back to a 2023 law that tacked $1 onto auto insurance policies to fight catalytic converter theft, funds lawmakers told the Tribune were never discussed for surveillance cameras.

In a radio interview, Abbott described a “crackdown” underway as cities cancel contracts amid privacy concerns and misuse reports, the Tribune reported. He cited a Lufkin officer facing 100 counts of misusing public information for allegedly surveilling 11 people, and said at least six Texas departments have placed officers on leave or under investigation in the past month.

Flock cameras use AI to log vehicle details like make, model, color and bumper stickers, and can be networked so agencies across the country share access, creating a sprawling surveillance web that critics say operates with little oversight.

That reach has turned the company into a lightning rod. Opposition has swelled into a bipartisan revolt, with the fight reaching Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties have raised alarms about the scale of Flock’s network and the volume of data each camera captures.

The pressure has escalated in recent weeks. Sen. Bernie Sanders vowed to introduce federal legislation to halt what he called AI mass surveillance, warning the technology is steering the country toward a surveillance state. In the last year, Flock had aggressively expanded its footprint across the country, including a police tool that lets officers track individual drivers and a planned nationwide plate-scanning fleet that would have enlisted Uber drivers to gather data on the move.

Even as scrutiny grows, Flock has defended its technology as a public-safety tool, telling the Tribune it supports thoughtful legislation with privacy guardrails. Last week, Flock CEO Garrett Langley suggested in an interview with Fox News that Americans should “compromise” on privacy, adding that those that frame the argument as a choice between privacy and safety are “prioritizing the wrong thing.”

With contract cancellations spreading, criminal charges piling up against officers who allegedly abused the system, and politicians on both sides lining up against it, the company faces a widening crisis of public trust that Abbott’s funding freeze only deepens.