Florida revokes approvals for license-plate readers on state highways

The Florida Department of Transportation announced on Monday that it is cancelling all previously granted approvals for automatic license-plate readers (LPRs) on state right-of-way land. In a memo to local law-enforcement agencies, chief operating officer Will Watts said the decision responds to a rapid increase in LPR deployments and “concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes” that could affect Floridians’ “sovereignty and quality of life.”

The move aligns with Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent remarks that state-wide surveillance has gone too far. > “We’re gonna clear the state right-of-ways,” DeSantis said on a podcast, adding that the cameras may be capturing more information than officials admit.

Florida’s order does not affect LPRs installed on private property or on local rights-of-way, where the majority of such cameras are located, but several jurisdictions have already chosen to discontinue their use. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it will stop employing LPR technology throughout Duval County “effective immediately,” while still describing the tools as “an enormously valuable investigative tool.”

The decision follows similar actions in other states, including Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott halted state funding for the same technology. Advocacy groups report that more than 100 local governments have cancelled or not renewed LPR contracts since early 2023, citing constitutional concerns.

Flock Safety, a leading supplier of LPR systems, said the ban is “the wrong reaction” and emphasized the technology’s role in solving crimes, locating missing persons, and recovering stolen vehicles. The company noted recent adjustments to its privacy practices, such as reducing data retention from one month to one week and tightening controls on users displaying abnormal activity.

A recent incident in Kentucky, where a police officer was arrested for using the Flock system to track an ex-girlfriend over 2,000 times, underscores the privacy and abuse concerns driving the policy shift.