Tiny Texas town kills its contract for eight AI plate-reader cameras after months of backlash. A councilman responded by sarcastically proposing phone, internet, and camera bans. The fight mirrors a bigger nationwide battle over privacy, surveillance, and public trust. Technology is a double-edged sword. On one side it promises increased safety and on the other it puts privacy in danger. That debate is raging across the USA regarding automatic license plate readers but it might not be any more hilarious than in Bandera, Texas. The tiny town of roughly 900 residents pressed their local government to end a contract with Flock Safety. When that measure passed, one of the dissenting councilmembers responded with a proposal that sounds like satire written after three espressos and days without sleep. Town Votes Flock Out By a 3-2 vote, Bandera moved to immediately terminate its contract with Flock Safety, ending an increasingly bitter battle over AI license plate reader cameras installed around town. Residents had repeatedly shown up to meetings to voice concerns about surveillance, privacy, and government overreach. Some opponents took things a step further. According to 404 Media, which first reported on the situation, poles holding the cameras were reportedly vandalized or cut down multiple times. Read: Why More Cities Are Suddenly Pulling The Plug On Flock Safety Cameras Bandera had installed eight Flock cameras through a Texas public safety grant. But despite state funding helping launch the project, opposition kept growing. Residents argued that the town already has extremely low crime and didn’t need what some described as a surveillance dragnet. At last week’s meeting, frustration boiled over. One resident reportedly asked how many meetings would be required before officials accepted that the community simply didn’t want the system. Another put it in language internet culture understands perfectly. Flock “doesn’t pass the vibe check,” they said. When the residents got what they wanted, Councilman Jeff Flowers gave everyone a piece of his mind. A Councilman Proposes Going Back To 1880 Flock Systems In a public letter titled the“Bandera Declaration of Digital Independence,” he argued that if residents truly cared about privacy, they should go all-in and abandon modern technology entirely. Flowers said he’ll propose a “total ban on all cellular and GPS-capable devices,” prohibit outward-facing cameras, and eliminate internet services and electronic record keeping altogether. His vision? Returning Bandera to something closer to 1880 with paper ledgers and cash transactions. That’s where the argument drives straight into a ditch. Suggesting residents opposed to Flock should also give up smartphones, GPS, and internet access sounds clever for about six seconds before the comparison completely collapses under its own weight. A random guy walking around with an iPhone isn’t the same thing as an automated surveillance network designed to capture thousands of images every day, catalog them, and make them searchable. One is a tool people choose to carry around. The other exists specifically to watch, collect, archive, and analyze movement at scale. Similar fights have erupted across the country, with local governments embracing AI surveillance tools while residents push back. The difference here is that most officials don’t respond by threatening to drag an entire town back to the 19th century, even (presumably…) as a joke. Photos Flock Systems
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