After Town Bans Flock, Councilmember Crashes Out, Proposes Internet and Phone Ban

Our Take

A town of 900 people just did what plenty of big cities won't: it looked at what Flock Safety's ALPR network actually does, weighed it against the promised benefits, and voted to shut it down. That's a win worth noting, credit to 404 Media for covering a story most outlets would skip because the town is small. Small towns are exactly where these contracts get rubber-stamped with zero scrutiny, so watching Bandera's council actually debate it and pull the plug is the system working as intended.

The response from the dissenting councilmember, though, tells you everything about how unserious the pro-surveillance case usually is. When you lose an argument about targeted, accountable oversight of a corporate camera network and your comeback is 'ban the internet and all cameras,' you've conceded the point. Nobody organizing against Flock is asking to ban technology; they're asking who gets to log every car that passes through town, for how long, and with what oversight. Pretending the alternative is Amish-style tech abstinence is a distraction, not a policy.

Bandera matters because it shows local votes aren't symbolic. Contracts can be ended, and residents showing up to meetings can change outcomes. If you want to see whether your own town has signed up with Flock, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not wait for a councilmember's meltdown to force the issue, our take-action page has steps for pushing back before the cameras go up, not after.