LPTexas is drawing a line on mass surveillance. Its SLEC unanimously passed a resolution condemning automated license plate readers (such as Flock) and warrantless tracking at every level of Texas government, calling for statutory bans, mandatory deletion of non-target data, and an end to surveillance vendor contracts.
Resolution Opposing Warrantless Mass Surveillance and Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
WHEREAS, the fundamental principle of human liberty and the Non-Aggression Principle demand that government power be strictly limited and that individual rights to privacy, autonomy, and free movement remain inviolable; and
WHEREAS, the widespread deployment of mass surveillance systems including Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), facial recognition cameras, aerial drones, and centralized tracking databases subjects innocent Texans to continuous, warrantless government monitoring simply for traveling on public thoroughfares; and
WHEREAS, the National Libertarian Party Platform, Section 1.3 (Privacy), explicitly affirms:
"Libertarians advocate individual privacy and government transparency. We are committed to ending government's practice of spying on everyone…"
WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party of Texas Platform, Section I.4.c (Police Powers - Searches), explicitly demands:
"LPTexas stands firmly against all warrantless surveillance which violates a person’s Fourth Amendment rights…”
WHEREAS, mass surveillance networks convert entire cities and transportation corridors into automated digital checkpoints that operate on a presumption of guilt, cataloging the daily habits, associations, religious gatherings, political activities, and medical visits of lawful citizens without individualized suspicion; and
WHEREAS, private surveillance vendors (such as Flock Safety and other third-party contractors) aggregate and store billions of vehicle location data points, sharing and selling access across multi-jurisdictional government networks to bypass traditional Fourth Amendment warrant requirements and open-records oversight; and
WHEREAS, true public safety does not require the surrender of basic liberties, and the right to travel freely without ubiquitous state surveillance is essential to a free society;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Libertarian Party of Texas:
- Unequivocally Condemns the deployment, funding, and utilization of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), dragnet surveillance networks, and third-party tracking databases by state, county, municipal, and law enforcement agencies across the State of Texas.
- Demands the Immediate Cease and Desist of any warrantless tracking, warrantless data sharing, and indefinite retention of location and identification data gathered from law-abiding individuals who are not the specific subjects of a lawful warrant based on individualized probable cause.
- Calls Upon the Texas Legislature and Local Governments to enact comprehensive statutory bans or strict warrants-only restrictions on the deployment of ALPRs and facial recognition networks, to mandate the immediate deletion of non-target surveillance data, and to prohibit state and local agencies from acquiring tracking data through private data brokers or third-party contractors.
- Urges All Texans, County Commissioners, and City Councils to reject contracts with mass surveillance vendors, assert local oversight, and actively defend the constitutional right of all people to be secure from warrantless searches, constant monitoring, and digital dragnets.