Blogger Comment: At least one US Governor and a few others have got it right here, but what about the rest, as this mass surveillance is getting just like China where the CCP rule with an iron fist on their people with ntheir freedom suppression, or are we just getting like a communist regime in the West also…apparently its looking that way…
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Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered the removal of all controversial Flock cameras and other license plate readers from state highways amid explosive concerns that the technology is being abused to track innocent Americans.
DeSantis ordered all Flock license plate recognition cameras operating on Florida’s State Highway System to be ripped out within 30 days.
The sweeping order covers state-controlled roads and major interstates, including I-10 and I-75.
Florida officials are also immediately halting the issuance of new permits for the surveillance technology.
The crackdown comes as evidence mounts that powerful artificial intelligence-driven camera networks have been misused by law enforcement personnel to secretly track Americans, including former romantic partners.
DeSantis warned that the rapidly expanding technology threatens to push Florida toward becoming a “surveillance state.”
“I think people are right to be concerned,” DeSantis said.
Florida Pulls the Plug on Mass Surveillance Cameras
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) formally revoked permits for License Plate Recognition Systems in an August 31 memo issued by Assistant Secretary and Chief Operating Officer Will Watts.
The agency cited the “recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes.”
Under the order, local law enforcement agencies have 30 days to remove the cameras from state rights-of-way.
If they refuse, Florida will remove the devices itself.
No new permits will be issued.
The move represents a major blow to the rapidly expanding network of automated cameras capable of recording vehicles and compiling searchable information about their movements.
An estimated 7,500 license plate readers are being used by roughly 100 law enforcement agencies across Florida.
More than 100,000 have reportedly been deployed nationwide.
DeSantis made clear that supporting police does not require giving government agencies unlimited surveillance powers.
“But, you also have to say, okay, how could this be misused?” DeSantis said.
“And how could a private company misuse the data, but also law enforcement?
“We know there was an officer in Florida who was using the LPR data to track, like, an ex-girlfriend or something like that.”
It comes after DeSantis declared last week that the situation has gotten “out of control.”
WATCH:
Evidence of Abuse Sparks Alarm
The governor’s intervention follows disturbing reports about how the technology has been used.
An analysis of more than five million Flock searches in Florida uncovered instances involving officers searching for ex-romantic partners, protesters, and suspected illegal aliens.
The system also reportedly does not require officers to provide a reason for every search.
Across five states, at least 19 police and sheriff’s office employees were arrested, fired, suspended, or investigated after suspicious Flock searches were uncovered.
Most of those cases involved employees tracking former romantic partners.
Even more alarming, journalists reportedly uncovered the suspicious patterns in nearly every case before the agencies employing the officers did.
Several Florida sheriff’s departments are now going further than DeSantis’ state-highway order.
Sheriff’s offices in Putnam, Liberty, and Franklin counties announced they will terminate their own license plate-reader programs following the crackdown.
DeSantis Draws Line Against ‘Surveillance State’
The state order currently applies only to roads controlled under Florida’s State Highway System.
That means cameras could remain on county and municipal roads unless local governments remove them or state lawmakers impose broader restrictions.
DeSantis is pushing the Florida Legislature to confront the issue and has repeatedly called for an artificial intelligence bill of rights to protect citizens as surveillance technology becomes increasingly sophisticated.
The governor has stressed that police should have effective tools to catch violent criminals while drawing a clear line against creating an infrastructure capable of tracking law-abiding citizens’ movements.
The exploding use of AI-powered surveillance cameras has increasingly raised precisely that concern.
While supporters point to cases in which license plate readers have helped locate kidnapping suspects and dangerous fugitives, the same infrastructure can potentially create an enormous database of Americans’ movements.
With thousands of cameras already deployed throughout Florida, DeSantis is now moving to stop that network from spreading across state-controlled highways.
For at least the remainder of his administration, Florida’s major state roadways will no longer be available for the unchecked expansion of the automated surveillance system.
And DeSantis is making clear that public safety cannot become an excuse for turning the Sunshine State into a government-controlled surveillance network.
Follow the link for the source… https://slaynews.com/desantis-orders-mass-removal-all-flock-cameras-florida-surveillance-state-fears/
And,
World Freedom 