Florida takes sweeping action against license plate readers as cities drop Flock

The cameras are coming down in Florida.

Partially.

On Monday, the Florida Department of Transportation officially revoked permission for law enforcement agencies to operate automated license plate readers on state highway rights-of-way.

Police agencies have 30 days to remove them.

The order represents one of the broadest government actions yet against the increasingly controversial technology.

And although Flock Safety has become almost synonymous with automated license plate readers, Florida’s directive applies to the entire category, including cameras supplied by competitors such as Axon and Motorola .

Florida officials cited the "recent exponential increase" in camera deployments, along with "concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes." Florida appears to be the first state to order the wholesale removal of automated license plate readers from its state highway system, rather than pausing new installations, limiting their use, or cutting funding.

SEE ALSO: What are Flock cameras and why are they so controversial? The order applies statewide but only to cameras installed within state highway rights-of-way.

It does not prohibit license plate readers on local roads or private property, where Florida officials say most of the cameras are located.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it would discontinue its use of license plate readers throughout Duval County effective immediately, even as it called them valuable investigative tools.

Pasco and Manatee counties have also moved to ban or remove the devices, while Oviedo’s mayor said the city’s cameras would be gone by the end of September "one way or another." Gov.

Ron DeSantis had telegraphed the move days earlier, describing the proliferation of license plate readers as "out of control" and warning against the creation of a surveillance state.

"These cameras that are out there now — who’s to say they’re only doing the license plate?" DeSantis said during an appearance on Eric Bolling’s Main Street America program.

"I think it’s capturing people in their cars.