DeSantis Breaks With the GOP on Flock Cameras — Public Is 'Right to Be Concerned' About Surveillance Network

SILVER SPRING, MD - AUGUST 19: Traffic flows past an Axon brand automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera in the median of 16th Street near the border of Maryland and the District of Columbia on August 19, 2026 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Law enforcement technology company Flock, which runs a nationwide network of automated license plate readers (ALPR), introduced new safety controls last week in an effort to curb scrutiny after a series of recent police officer resignations and arrests for alleged abuses of the company’s tools. (Credit: Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis broke with a long Republican tradition of backing police surveillance tools this week, warning that the rapid spread of Flock Safety's artificial-intelligence camera network has left the state with almost no real oversight. For Florida's large immigrant communities, especially across South Florida, his comments landed alongside mounting evidence that the same camera network has already been tapped repeatedly to support federal immigration arrests.

A Governor Sounds the Alarm