Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop paying for the AI-powered license-plate readers as privacy concerns and officer-misuse scandals mount across Texas.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop using state funds for Flock Safety’s AI-powered license-plate readers, according to reporting cited by Decrypt. The directive followed scrutiny of the surveillance network and an investigation that found at least $30 million had supported its expansion through grants to local police. Texas has helped install at least 3,200 cameras since 2023, including funding linked to an auto-insurance fee intended to combat catalytic-converter theft. The decision arrives amid wider bipartisan concern over privacy and reported misuse of the technology by officers.
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The funding halt suggests that public agencies may face greater pressure to justify how automated surveillance systems are financed, governed and audited. For technology providers, adoption could increasingly depend on clear limits for data access, retention and permissible searches rather than technical capability alone. The Texas decision may also influence similar debates in other states and at the federal level. Officials, civil-liberties groups and investors will likely watch whether local departments continue deployments with non-state funds and whether lawmakers introduce broader safeguards for networked license-plate data.
