- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to halt funding for Flock Safety‘s AI-powered surveillance cameras.
- State funds helped install at least 3,200 cameras since 2023, much of it financed by a $1 auto-insurance fee originally intended to fight catalytic converter theft.
- The directive adds to bipartisan backlash, including Sen. Bernie Sanders’s planned federal legislation against mass surveillance.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock Safety‘s AI-powered surveillance cameras, his office confirmed to the Texas Tribune.
The Tribune reported that a state agency had steered at least $30 million toward building the network through grants to local police. Abbott’s spokesperson said agencies are clarifying that state funds cannot be used for Flock cameras, noting most city funding comes from the federal government.
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 added $1 to auto insurance policies to fight catalytic converter theft—funds lawmakers say were never discussed for surveillance.
In a radio interview, Abbott described a “crackdown” underway as cities cancel contracts amid privacy concerns and misuse reports. 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 Safety 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. That reach has turned the company into a lightning rod, with opposition swelling into a bipartisan revolt on Capitol Hill.
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. Flock Safety has defended its technology as a public-safety tool, but CEO Garrett Langley recently suggested that Americans should “compromise” on privacy, adding that those framing 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.
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