Boston Cuts Ties With Flock Safety Following Unauthorized Nationwide Data Sharing

The city of Boston has ended its partnership with license-plate camera maker Flock Safety after discovering that the vendor accidentally enabled nationwide data sharing in violation of its agreement. As first reported by Ars Technica, the municipal contract breach was detailed in Boston's annual surveillance technology report for 2025.

The Boston Police Department deployed roughly 45 automated license-plate reader cameras during a trial run operating from April to September 2025. City contract provisions strictly dictated that captured data remain exclusive to trained department staff, with remote data-sharing settings explicitly deactivated. However, police administrators discovered within three days of launch that external law enforcement agencies across the country were accessing Boston's local camera feeds through an active nationwide lookup feature.

According to the municipal report, police officials immediately compelled Flock Safety to turn off the setting, ending direct external access for the remainder of the pilot. Boston's security policies require surveillance vendors to contractually commit to non-sharing rules and automatically wipe recorded footage after 30 days unless specific records are requested for investigative or legal matters.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu confirmed the contract termination during a broadcast on GBH News, emphasizing that the city will not utilize platforms where administrative toggles fail to uphold privacy controls. Wu stated that while automated camera systems can assist law enforcement in solving crimes faster, deployment remains contingent on strict, publicly authorized privacy protections and working access restrictions.

The loss of the Flock Safety contract has not ended Boston's interest in automated license-plate recognition technology. The police department launched a subsequent camera trial with Motorola in February 2026, followed by another pilot program with Axon in June 2026.

The incident underscores broader industry concerns surrounding data access protocols within regional surveillance networks. A recent analysis published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation showed that law enforcement officers using Flock's nationwide search tools routinely logged arbitrary search explanations, including entries like "LOL," "sexy," and "idk." Although Flock introduced a mandatory drop-down menu for crime categories in late 2025, privacy advocates note the system still lacks mechanisms to verify whether selected reasons match genuine legal investigations.

Despite a growing number of municipalities reconsidering their contracts over privacy vulnerabilities and rising expenses, Flock Safety maintains that its market footprint is expanding. The startup previously disclosed that new municipal partnerships have surpassed non-renewals by a ten-to-one margin during 2026.