Florida has moved to block local police from installing license-plate readers on state roads, targeting camera networks made by Flock Safety and other companies, according to Bloomberg. The action follows growing concern over the spread of automated roadside surveillance systems. Bloomberg reports that the Florida Department of Transportation revoked all permits on Monday for local law-enforcement agencies to operate license-plate reader systems on state roadways. The department ordered any systems already installed under those permits to be removed within 30 days. A Techmeme pickup of Orlando Sentinel reporting corroborates the central action: Florida is revoking permits for Flock cameras and similar license-plate readers on state roads and no longer intends to issue such permits. The scope matters. The reporting concerns license-plate readers on state roads, not every road or every camera system in Florida. The affected systems include Flock cameras and similar license-plate readers used by local law-enforcement agencies where permits from the state transportation department were required. Bloomberg says the department’s memo pointed to an “exponential increase” in the use of the devices and cited reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes as reasons for immediate action. The memo framed the move as necessary to protect Floridians’ sovereignty and quality of life. The decision turns a permitting issue into a statewide policy constraint for local police deployments on state roadways. For agencies that used those locations, the immediate operational issue is removal: Bloomberg reports the deadline is 30 days for systems already installed under the revoked permits. Who benefits: Floridians and privacy advocates concerned about roadside surveillance gain a concrete restriction on state-road deployments. State officials also gain tighter control over what equipment is installed on state transportation infrastructure. Who's exposed: Local law-enforcement agencies that relied on permitted readers on state roadways must remove affected systems. Flock Safety and other license-plate reader vendors are exposed where their deployments depend on state road permits in Florida.