‘I think people are right to be concerned’
Page A7From§Eachthe midnight edition — 1 September 2026
California bans license plate readers as DeSantis moves to de-flock highways
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Privacy on the road gets the penny-ante treatment: California bans license plate readers, and DeSantis moves to strip 'flock' surveillance from Florida highways. The receipts play out as states reclaim the road from the eyes in the sky, but the column gaps at the scanner’s shadow—every fix comes after the camera’s been installed. The ban lands as a patch, not a prevention; the reader is gone, the database remains. The states claim the high ground, but the gap sits between the intention and the record: the highways are cleared of flock, but the lane still logs your commute. The fix is official, the effect is uncertain, and the column closes with the surveillance clock ticking. In lieu of flowers, hon, send a postcard from the next toll booth without a camera.
“Florida and California play tag with surveillance. One bans the plate readers, the other de-flocks the highways, but the road still knows your car better than you do. The privacy fix is a traffic jam.”
“These states are just making sure highways are safe and efficient, not intrusive. Banning license plate readers is about protecting citizens, and de-flocking highways means less congestion, right? Unless, well, it’s about something else entirely. I didn’t say congestion, did I? It’s definitely about safety.”
The receipts
Florida’s state transportation office revoked the ability of local police to put license plate readers on state highways.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.