Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock Safety's AI-powered surveillance cameras, dealing the latest blow to the license-plate-reader company as backlash against 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. The directive makes Texas—home to one of the largest documented state-backed Flock deployments—the highest-profile state government to pull financial support for the company's cameras.

Spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris told the Tribune that agencies are clarifying that state funds cannot be used for Flock cameras, noting that most city funding for the devices comes from the federal government. That distinction matters for what comes next: because federal dollars have been a major funding channel for local deployments, a state-level freeze does not by itself cut off the network's primary revenue streams, leaving open the question of whether federal funding practices will face similar scrutiny.

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 added $1 to auto insurance policies to combat catalytic converter theft—funds that lawmakers told the Tribune were never discussed as a means of paying for surveillance cameras. The episode is a concrete example of how surveillance infrastructure can be financed through fees earmarked for other purposes, a pattern privacy advocates have long flagged as a way such systems expand without direct legislative debate.

In a radio interview, Abbott described a "crackdown" underway as cities cancel contracts amid privacy concerns and misuse reports, the Tribune reported. He cited the case of 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 artificial intelligence to log vehicle details such as make, model, color, and bumper stickers, and can be networked so that agencies across the country share access—creating a sprawling surveillance web that critics say operates with little oversight. Law-enforcement agencies generally defend license-plate readers as a tool for solving crimes, and Flock's products are widely used for investigations ranging from stolen vehicles to Amber Alerts—the tension at the heart of the current debate is not the technology's stated purpose but the breadth of data collected and who can access it.

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 that the technology is steering the country toward a surveillance state. If introduced, the bill would test whether Congress is willing to regulate a market that has so far expanded largely through local contracts and state grants rather than federal policy.

Over the past 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 who 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—one that Abbott's funding freeze only deepens. What happens next will likely hinge on whether other states follow Texas's lead, whether Congress acts on the promised federal bill, and how municipalities already locked into multi-year contracts respond as their funding sources narrow.