Fla. lawmakers agree on need for state legislation on Flock cameras but have differing views on when

Our Take

Credit to Rep. Anna V. Eskamani for getting this on the record: even inside the Florida Capitol, there's now bipartisan acknowledgment that Flock Safety's network of license plate readers has outgrown local police discretion and needs statewide guardrails. That's progress. For years, departments have rolled these cameras out quietly, city by city, with little public debate about retention windows, data sharing, or who gets access to a running log of everyone's movements.

But "we agree something must be done" followed by disagreement over timing is exactly how surveillance infrastructure becomes permanent. Every month without statute is another month of default settings, vague vendor contracts, and law enforcement access requests from other states and federal agencies flowing through local systems unchecked. Delay isn't neutral — it's a policy choice that favors the status quo, which in this case means more cameras and fewer limits.

If you're in Florida, this is the moment to make noise with your own representatives before "when" quietly becomes "never." Check our map to see what's already watching your neighborhood, and head to take-action for tools to push lawmakers toward real limits, not just talking points.