TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (WSVN) - The Florida Department of Transportation has ordered the removal of Flock cameras from all state highways.
In a memorandum released Monday, FDOT officials said the department has already revoked permits for the automated license plate readers installed by local agencies along roads in the state’s highway system.
Following that memo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at a news conference in Jacksonville where he was asked whether law enforcement agencies should stop using automatic license plate reader cameras.
“So there’s obviously times where I think it’s probably been useful, but where is this data going? How much data is the companies doing?” said DeSantis. “They claim that the companies aren’t going to misuse it, but no one is watching that.”
DeSantis has spoken against the cameras, saying that without oversight, they threaten privacy, and he agrees that something has to change.
“I’ve called for legislation that will protect Floridians from allowing the state to turn into some type of digital prison, digital surveillance state, where somebody knows everything about what you’re doing every day of the week,” he said.
Supporters are criticizing the move, saying the cameras have helped solve criminal cases.
The new order gives law enforcement agencies 30 days to remove all cameras from their jurisdictions. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office was the first agency in the Jacksonville area to discontinue the use of Flock cameras, with other agencies following suit shortly after.
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