DeFlock UTD and remove all ALPRs
The Issue
The University of Texas at Dallas spends $32,500 every year to track 22,000 people every day. Students, faculty, staff, are all logged into the Flock database, shared with 593 different law agencies, each with their own data policies.
Flock cameras, and Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in general, have no place on any campus or university. And yet, with its 13 Flock cameras, UTD seems to have a different opinion. UTD indiscriminately and continuously collects and retains data on every student. These cameras use AI technology to uniquely identify cars, by tracking license plates, bumper stickers, any car defects — and even people. These cameras then send that data to a private, off-campus provider, who uses the images to contribute to a vast database of every American’s location history. Thanks to Flock’s central database, UTD and other police departments can scan both on-campus and off-campus activity, without a warrant or any real oversight.
What kind of campus do we want to be? Do you want it to be one where students feel free to advocate for causes, do journalism, protest, and exercise their rights without worry? Or do you want it to be one where a mass surveillance program is normalized. One that treats every student as a criminal by default.
UTD PD has made it known they do not directly share information with immigration authorities, but that data still gets in the hands of them. ICE can make deals with local police departments, which have access to the Flock database. Additionally, federal 287(g) and Texas SB 4 force police departments to cooperate with and effectively act as an extension of ICE, which includes Flock data. ICE making deals is not just a hypothetical. This is documented to have happened multiple times by 404 Media. City governments across the country have cancelled their Flock contracts after being surprised by ICE having access to their camera data. UTD may not directly choose to authorize it, but federal agencies including ICE find a way anyways.
A university should pursue safety in a way that respects our civil liberties. By sharing our data into the Flock database, UTD does not.
https://retrogradenews.com/2026/09/27/its-time-to-deflock-utd-says-sg-senator/
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The Issue
The University of Texas at Dallas spends $32,500 every year to track 22,000 people every day. Students, faculty, staff, are all logged into the Flock database, shared with 593 different law agencies, each with their own data policies.
Flock cameras, and Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in general, have no place on any campus or university. And yet, with its 13 Flock cameras, UTD seems to have a different opinion. UTD indiscriminately and continuously collects and retains data on every student. These cameras use AI technology to uniquely identify cars, by tracking license plates, bumper stickers, any car defects — and even people. These cameras then send that data to a private, off-campus provider, who uses the images to contribute to a vast database of every American’s location history. Thanks to Flock’s central database, UTD and other police departments can scan both on-campus and off-campus activity, without a warrant or any real oversight.
What kind of campus do we want to be? Do you want it to be one where students feel free to advocate for causes, do journalism, protest, and exercise their rights without worry? Or do you want it to be one where a mass surveillance program is normalized. One that treats every student as a criminal by default.
UTD PD has made it known they do not directly share information with immigration authorities, but that data still gets in the hands of them. ICE can make deals with local police departments, which have access to the Flock database. Additionally, federal 287(g) and Texas SB 4 force police departments to cooperate with and effectively act as an extension of ICE, which includes Flock data. ICE making deals is not just a hypothetical. This is documented to have happened multiple times by 404 Media. City governments across the country have cancelled their Flock contracts after being surprised by ICE having access to their camera data. UTD may not directly choose to authorize it, but federal agencies including ICE find a way anyways.
A university should pursue safety in a way that respects our civil liberties. By sharing our data into the Flock database, UTD does not.
https://retrogradenews.com/2026/09/27/its-time-to-deflock-utd-says-sg-senator/
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Petition created on September 29, 2026