Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Floridians are right to be “concerned” about the fast-paced emergence of Flock surveillance cameras in their communities at every turn, telling reporters it is “out of control” and that we “don’t want to have this become a surveillance state,” acknowledging the instances of abuse, like a “police officer using this to track” an ex-girlfriend.
“So I think these cameras, these license plate readers, I think it’s out of control,” DeSantis began during a press conference this week, acknowledging that Florida highway patrol have readers for “tolling by plate and things like that.”
“Now, I’ve never supported the automatic tickets being sent if you’re speeding. I think a human being has to do that, and so I’ve never — I’ve never embraced that. But this was something that was kind of out there in that vein, and then with this whole Flock situation, it’s now being used… not for tolling by plate or things like that, but for actual criminal surveillance,” he said, noting this is done by local police departments.
He said he has asked for an overview of what is going on in state agencies and said he is “all about having law enforcement have tools to be able to hold criminals accountable.” However, he said people have a right to be concerned about Flock cameras at every turn.
“I think that’s important that we do that, and no one’s been stronger on law enforcement than me. But I don’t want to have this become a surveillance state. I don’t want there to be a situation — and that’s why we wanted an AI bill of rights,” he said, explaining that this would have fallen under that category.
“Remember, we were pushing for that because the Flock is artificial intelligence, so whether it’s online with digital surveillance or whether it’s with cameras, at what point are we just going to be free to be not have to deal with any of that?” he asked, explaining that this needs to be “overhauled for sure.”
“I know New Hampshire did something that really kept — It’s interesting. They put something in a bill about using them on state, so the sheriffs and the police can use it on state rightaways. And I asked Jared. I said, ‘Well… is the state involved?’ State doesn’t get any of the information or anything,” DeSantis revealed.
“It’s just like they’re doing it, so we don’t even really know, you know, like the police department or whatever. And when I see like a police officer using this to track like an ex-girlfriend, I’m like, ‘You know, what the hell’s going on, you know, with this?’” DeSantis said, referencing the Kentucky police officer arrested for using Flock to track his ex-girlfriend over 2,000 times. In another instance, an officer in South Carolina was fired, as it was alleged she used the Flock camera system to “run a former romantic partner’s license plate 166 times.”
The governor said the emergence of Flock cameras happened “very quickly” and that people “are right to be concerned.”
“I wanted an AI bill of rights that could have addressed this and others, other issues,” DeSantis said. “The Senate passed a product, and the House in Florida… wouldn’t even do anything about it.”
“Now think about it. All the stuff online about how there’s — I mean, I just I don’t want to be in a situation where these tech companies, a handful of tech companies, know everything about you and know where you’re going,” he said, explaining they collect a lot of data right now “as it is.”
“But I think it’s going to get a lot worse unless we have some protections for the people in Florida… But the only way it could be dealt with is legislatively. This is not something that you know — it’s something that’s being implemented at, primarily at the local level, and you’re going to need the legislature to provide protections for people,” DeSantis continued.
“If it’s something you’re concerned about, then I think you should talk to the people running for office, particularly for the legislature, and see. And I know New Hampshire has done something, and so I’m in the process of reviewing that because I think that would probably be a good place to start for us here,” he said, acknowledging, again, how quickly this has popped up.
“But this has happened very quickly. I mean, this is in the last few years. I mean, I think when I became governor, they had readers, but it was more to toll people going through the service plazas and the toll plazas, which you know, honestly we had a lot of toll roads when I became governor, and I wish we didn’t have that many toll roads because you do a lot,” he said. “That’s why we did the toll relief here in Florida.”
“But yeah, I think people are right to be concerned, and I think you got to have protections for people. But go after criminals, great. Let’s all do that. But surveilling just regular Floridians’ movements and how that data is used, you know — that’s a bird of a different feather,” the governor added.
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Many Florida communities have rebelled against Flock cameras popping up in their communities at every corner, prompting protests and testimonies before local governments.
One recent protest from Deflock STJohns featured locals holding picket signs blocking the view of Flock cameras.
“People don’t want to be filmed everywhere they go, or tracked every single place they go,” one organizer said, noting that “a lot of people don’t even notice the cameras until we’re in front of them.”
“I won’t stop,” she added. “I’m dead set on taking this all the way, if I have to. They swore an oath to the constitution. I expect them to uphold that.”
However, their concerns have been dismissed by St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick, who admitted the surveillance is now on “steroids” and seemingly compared efforts to de-Flock the county to those who want to defund the police altogether.
“But here’s the one thing I say, and I’ve been blasting emails because I feel like it’s the flavor of the day, and we’ll move on to something else. But if you look at the map that was produced on the local media sources over the last couple days, if you look at the cities that are removing Flock, those are the same exact cities in the same exact states that defund the police department, turn our backs on us when one incident occurs,” he told The 904 Now, defending Flock surveillance because he does “not want to be that community that cannot solve crime.”
“A little bit of it is ignorance and misinformation of what it truly is,” Hardwick continued, defending Flock because it is “American owned and operated” outside of Washington, DC. He also said that he determines who he shares the information with, which includes the FBI.
“They don’t share the information. It’s mine. I own it. I choose to do what I want to do with the information, and I have chose in my information, we only share it with surrounding counties. Do we share it with the federal government? Yes. The FBI is the only other entity in the federal government that we share it with,” he revealed.