Florida drivers may soon face fewer high-tech eyes tracking their highway commutes after state officials ordered local police to strip automated license plate readers (ALPRs) from state roads. The move is a setback for private surveillance vendors such as Flock Safety, and it draws a hard boundary against what Gov. Ron DeSantis warns is an expanding "digital AI surveillance state."

"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 if you're doing that, right? What we don't want in the state of Florida is to have a digital AI surveillance state where everything we're doing is being tracked at all times," DeSantis said at a Monday news conference.

"There's obviously times when I think it's probably been useful, but where is this data going?" the governor continued. "They claim that the companies aren't going to misuse it, but no one's watching that. 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."

The governor's comments came as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced in a one-page memo Monday that it was revoking existing permits for automated license plate readers within state highway rights-of-way and giving law enforcement agencies 30 days to remove the devices already installed. Because the directive applies only to state highway rights-of-way, it does not by itself address ALPRs installed on local roads or city streets, leaving the broader shape of any statewide restriction to the legislation DeSantis has urged lawmakers to pass.

FDOT memo

FDOT said the action was prompted by the rapid expansion of automated license plate readers, along with reports of misuse, data privacy concerns and surveillance schemes. The readers record vehicle sightings and feed searchable databases; when agencies choose to share data, searches can be connected across jurisdictional lines. That cross-jurisdictional sharing is precisely what has drawn scrutiny from privacy advocates, who note that aggregated plate reads can reconstruct a detailed picture of a person's movements over time without any warrant or suspicion of a crime.

ALPRs are often small, solar-powered cameras mounted on poles, buildings or police cars, capturing vehicle license plates and locations as drivers pass by. Flock Safety, one of the leading ALPR vendors, has rapidly expanded its business with law enforcement, municipalities and businesses in recent years. According to the ACLU, about 120,000 Flock cameras are currently installed nationwide. The company's business model, in which cameras are often leased to agencies on subscription and data can be shared across a network of participating departments, has made it a focal point in the national debate over how long location data should be retained and who should have access to it.

"I guarantee you every sheriff in Florida can point to examples where it's been used appropriately and probably effectively. And I have no doubt that that's the case. But you also have to say, okay, how could this be misused?" DeSantis said.

"We know there was an officer in Florida who was using the LPR data to track, like, an ex-girlfriend or something like that. I don't think we have really strong penalties at all for that type of misuse," he added. "So I've called for legislation that will protect Floridians from allowing the state to turn it into some type of digital prison, digital surveillance state where somebody knows everything about what you're doing every day of the week."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Flock spokesperson defended the technology: "Flock's technology is an important public safety tool for law enforcement agencies across Florida, helping officers solve serious crimes, find missing people, recover stolen vehicles and support safer communities. In just the last few weeks in Florida, the technology was used to find missing children, led to the arrest of a murder suspect and assisted in solving numerous other crimes."

"Rather than banning a critical public safety tool," the spokesperson continued, "we support thoughtful legislation and strong privacy, transparency and accountability guardrails that ensure technology is used responsibly while preserving law enforcement's ability to use effective tools to keep people safe."

DeSantis' office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Florida's directive mirrors broader pushback across the country. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently halted state funding for Flock cameras, while municipalities across the U.S. have ended or declined to renew contracts with the company. Public resistance has also escalated into proposed class-action lawsuits and reports of camera vandalism in dozens of states. What happens in Florida over the coming weeks, as agencies meet the 30-day removal deadline and lawmakers weigh DeSantis' call for misuse penalties and data protections, is likely to be watched closely by other states weighing similar restrictions.

Fox News' Kerri Kupec Urbahn contributed to this report.

Source: Fox Business