'It was disappointing': Boston ends Flock camera use after data-sharing lapse
The short version: Boston shut down its Flock camera program after discovering a data-sharing setting let outside agencies access its ALPR feeds without authorization, per WCVB Channel 5 Boston.
Our Take
Credit to WCVB Channel 5 Boston for getting city officials on record admitting what we keep saying: these systems are sold as 'local control' tools, but the default settings and network architecture quietly open the door to statewide and even nationwide data sharing. Boston didn't discover this because of some press release from Flock — someone had to notice outside agencies pulling their plate data. That's not a glitch, that's the business model.
This is the pattern we track again and again: a department signs up thinking they're getting a neighborhood security camera, and months later they find out dozens of agencies they never vetted, never signed an agreement with, and never told the public about have been quietly pulling from the same database. 'Disappointing' is a diplomatic word for it. The real story is that nobody at the department fully understood what they were turning on, and the public certainly didn't get a vote.
Boston pulling the plug is a rare case of a city actually following through when the sales pitch didn't match the reality. Most places just shrug and keep the cameras running. If you want to see whether your own city or county has Flock gear logging your plates right now, check our map, and if you'd rather not wait for a scandal to force your local officials to act, our take-action page has the tools to push back before the data-sharing lapse becomes your story.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WCVB Channel 5 Boston, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.