Texas Governor Abbott blocks funding for more Flock cameras

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has frozen state spending on Flock's AI surveillance cameras amid bipartisan backlash, just ahead of a Texas Tribune investigation revealing the state spent over $30 million on the cameras, funded largely by a $1 fee on insurance policies. The move follows incidents of officer misuse and privacy concerns, with cities across Texas canceling contracts and Abbott's opponent Gina Hinojosa criticizing his expansion of the cameras.

As backlash grows over Flock’s AI surveillance cameras, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has frozen state spending https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/28/texas-greg-abbott-flock-cameras-order-state-money/ on them. The move came just ahead of the publication of a Texas Tribune investigation https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/28/texas-flock-cameras-auto-insurance-fee-mvcpa-grants/ that revealed the state spent over $30 million on Flock cameras. That money was primarily raised by tacking a $1 fee onto insurance policies, allegedly to help fight catalytic converter theft. Texas Governor Abbott blocks funding for more Flock cameras As bipartisan backlash mounts, more politicians are turning against AI surveillance. As bipartisan backlash mounts, more politicians are turning against AI surveillance. Flock cameras have increasingly drawn ire from across the political spectrum https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/29/flock-cameras-stir-bipartisan-fury-gov-greg-abbott-blocks-them-texas/ as they’ve become the subject of privacy concerns. There have been multiple incidents of officers being placed on leave or criminally charged https://www.404media.co/cops-keep-getting-arrested-for-using-flock-to-stalk-people/ for misusing Flock systems, including at least six in Texas alone. The company has also come under scrutiny for its data-sharing https://www.wired.com/story/how-an-atlanta-suburb-ended-up-sharing-flock-data-with-more-than-2000-organizations/ , the placement of some of its cameras near https://www.wsj.com/tech/flock-cameras-are-spreading-across-america-the-backlash-is-growing-just-as-fast-fff74ed2 playgrounds https://www.reddit.com/r/Pflugerville/comments/1r17ys9/flock camera watching playground we need to/ , its own employees’ access https://www.wral.com/news/investigates/audits-raise-questions-about-access-to-raleigh-flock-cameras-august-2026/ to video feeds, unsecured video feeds /news/849624/flock-ai-camera-feeds-exposed-benn-jordan , and its ham-fisted attempts to avoid transparency https://youtu.be/GQoQkeMdvQM . In recent months, cities around the country have been canceling their contracts with Flock, including many in Texas. Abbott’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor, Gina Hinojosa, has criticized him https://youtu.be/81IMtQ5hnYA for expanding use of the cameras in the state. And Republican representative Keith Self recently posted on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/DbYffZ6Sy96/ that, “From Flock cameras to kill switches, we will NOT surrender our Fourth Amendment rights to the growing surveillance state.” Cheering on the destruction of Flock cameras /tech/985155/flock-camera-destruction-vigilantes has even become a unifying pastime on the internet. Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.