Texas and Florida slam the brakes on Flock mass surveillance cameras | Eastern NC Now

Mass surveillance of citizens by government is a staple of dystopian novels of a dark future like Huxley's "Brave New World" and Orwell's "1984".  The slogan "Big Brother is watching you" is a memorable line from the latter.

Unfortunately, a public-private partnership of mass surveillance has reared its ugly head in our own country, the Flock network of mass surveillance cameras.  These cameras collect license plate numbers and a lot of other data about every car that passes them and feeds that data into central computers.  Some of the systems even collect data on communications devices present in cars that pass.

When an area has a Flock network built out, it is possible to construct the movements of everyday citizens.  Already, there have been numerous cases of people in law enforcement using the Flock system to cyberstalk current or former romantic partners.  There are also a growing number of people arrested for things they had nothing to do with, sometimes at gunpoint.  It would not be difficult for a foreign adversary to get into the system and use it to track Americans they choose to target.

Citizens and some state and local governments are taking action to crack down on  this threat to privacy and freedom in their areas.  Ober 200 cities have already done so, as well as the states of Texas and Florida.  It has become an issue in the governor's election in Nevada, where the debate between candidates has been competing plans to restrict Flock.

In Beaufort County, no government units operate Flock cameras.  The only ones in the county are at the two entrances to Lowes.

https://dailycaller.com/2026/09/12/states-republicans-democrats-flock-cameras-alpr-pennsylvania-california/