Governor Greg Abbott has ordered all Texas state agencies to immediately pause spending on Flock Safety surveillance cameras as scrutiny over the AI-powered technology intensifies.
The move follows reporting that a state agency had devoted at least $30 million to building out the Flock surveillance network through grants to local police departments across Texas.
Abbott issued the directive Thursday night, with his office confirming the decision publicly the following Friday morning amid growing political pressure from both sides of the aisle.
Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris issued a statement clarifying the scope of the order and its implications for local governments currently operating the cameras.
“To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government,” Mahaleris said in a statement shared first with the Texas Tribune.
“To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras,” Mahaleris added, outlining the practical effect of the governor’s directive.
Abbott also addressed the issue in a Friday radio interview, noting that cities and counties had already begun canceling their contracts with Flock Safety amid mounting pressure from residents and advocacy groups.
The Pflugerville City Council voted unanimously to terminate its agreement with Flock Safety, eliminating all 28 camera readers covered by the contract and disabling access to the system entirely.
In Hood County, the Commissioners Court voted to end its relationship with Flock Safety and later unanimously directed that the county’s three cameras be disconnected and covered until they can be physically removed.
The decisions in Pflugerville and Hood County reflect a broader trend of local governments across Texas reconsidering their relationships with Flock Safety over concerns about data sharing, privacy, and the potential for misuse of the technology.
Flock Safety has pushed back against the wave of criticism, defending its cameras as a legitimate and effective law enforcement tool used across the state.
Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel said in a statement: “Flock’s technology is an important public safety tool for law enforcement agencies across Texas, helping officers solve serious crimes, find missing people, recover stolen vehicles, and support safer communities.”
Despite those assurances, the political backlash has proven difficult to contain, with the controversy drawing attention from legislators and residents who question how the data collected by the cameras is stored, shared, and potentially accessed by third parties.
The bipartisan nature of the opposition is notable, with both conservative and progressive voices raising alarms about the rapid and largely unchecked expansion of AI-powered surveillance infrastructure in communities across Texas.
Abbott’s intervention signals that the controversy has reached a level where state-level action became politically necessary, even as local governments were already moving to distance themselves from the technology.
