Texas blocks funding for Flock as backlash grows against AI surveillance cameras

Texas has paused state funding for Flock, an AI surveillance camera company, as political backlash grows nationwide. The move came from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who ordered all Texas state agencies to stop funding Flock via an order issued Thursday night. The decision arrives as The Texas Tribune was preparing to publish a report saying Texas spent at least $30 million in grants to local agencies to buy Flock cameras, funded in part by a higher fee on Texans’ car insurance. Abbott’s Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, attacked him in a campaign ad referencing “10,000 Flock cameras” reading license plates.