Is the data collected by license plate readers public record? Here’s what Florida law says
The short version: WKMG News 6 digs into whether Florida ALPR data counts as public record, exposing how transparency laws often fail to match the scale of plate surveillance.
Our Take
Credit to WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando for asking a question that sounds simple but rarely gets a straight answer: is the license plate data vacuumed up by Flock cameras actually public record? In most states, including Florida, the answer is a frustrating patchwork of exemptions, retention rules, and agency discretion that was never designed with networked, always-on surveillance in mind. Public records law was built for paper files and specific requests — not a system that silently logs every car that passes a fixed point, indefinitely, across an entire county.
That mismatch matters. When the public can't easily find out who has access to this data, how long it's kept, or which agencies are sharing it across jurisdictional lines, the burden of oversight falls entirely on journalists and advocates willing to file the requests and fight the denials. Florida residents deserve to know exactly how their movements are being logged and by whom, not just whether a reporter can eventually pry the answer loose.
If you're in Florida or anywhere else, check our camera map to see what's already been documented near you, and visit our take-action page for ways to push back on unchecked plate surveillance in your community.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.