INGLESIDE, Texas —
Two Coastal Bend cities are ending their use of Flock automated license plate readers as questions about privacy and surveillance continue to grow.
In Aransas Pass, city leaders voted to terminate their agreement with Flock. During a July city council meeting, the city attorney outlined the terms of the exit.
"Under that provision... the city's liability would be $500 for the removal of each Flock camera and the company has a reasonable amount of time to remove those... and the termination is immediate," the Aransas Pass city attorney said.
Council members also discussed the ongoing cost of the subscription, with one member saying the city was paying about $30,000 a year.
Ingleside city council also voted to terminate its Flock subscription. Council members raised concerns about privacy and who could access data collected through the system.
"This was brought to us a year ago... it was only supposed to be used for the PD. Now all of a sudden everybody has access to it and that's not good... it could be a good tool. But if it's in the wrong hands, it's not a good tool for you," an Ingleside council member said.
Jacob Miller, an Aransas Pass native and administrator of DeFlock 361, has been speaking out against the technology. He said Flock cameras collect more than just a license plate number.
"The license plate, the make and model, the color, a dent, a scratch, a sticker, whatever it may be," Miller said.
Miller said that raises serious questions about privacy and expressed concern about what he describes as constant surveillance of people's movements.
"Flock, in my opinion, is massive government overreach... it's constant tracking of our movements. You're capturing me entering town. Then you're capturing me going to the store. Then you're capturing me go to my son's soccer practice. Whatever it might be, you're watching every single movement and logging it," Miller said.
Both Aransas Pass and Ingleside have now moved to end their agreements with Flock. Questions about how the technology is used, who can access the data, and where the line between public safety and privacy should be drawn remain unresolved.
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