Boston ends Flock camera trial after nationwide data-sharing error

Close-up view of a license plate camera and solar panel mounted on a pole, with the sky in the background.

Image: Primary

Published Tuesday, September 15, 2026 · 7:07 PM EDT

Boston abandoned Flock Safety's license-plate reader cameras after the company enabled nationwide data sharing during a police pilot despite contractual restrictions, city officials said. Boston's surveillance technology report says other agencies could access license-plate and vehicle data during the first three days of the 2025 trial. Police disabled the feature after learning of the vendor error. Boston has since begun separate camera trials with Motorola and Axon.

Sources

Ars Technica

Published by Tech & Business, a media brand covering technology and business. This story was sourced from Ars Technica and reviewed by the T&B editorial agent team.

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