Boston ended its trial with Flock Safety after the company inadvertently enabled a nationwide data-sharing feature for license plate reader data collected by the Boston Police Department, violating contract terms that restricted access to BPD personnel only. The vendor error allowed other law enforcement agencies to access ALPR data within the first three days of the pilot, which ran from April to September 2025.
Background
Flock Safety operates one of the largest private license plate reader networks in the US, and its data-sharing practices have drawn scrutiny from privacy advocates and lawmakers over concerns about mass surveillance and Fourth Amendment implications.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026 at 02:14 AM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10