Boston ends Flock camera use after data-sharing lapse

Our Take

Credit to WCVB Channel 5 Boston for digging up the report that forced this admission: Boston didn't quietly retire its Flock cameras over budget concerns or public pressure alone — it pulled the plug because the company reportedly let outside law enforcement agencies tap into data the city never approved for sharing. That's not a hypothetical privacy risk. That's the exact failure mode critics have been warning about since these camera networks started popping up on street corners nationwide.

Flock has built its pitch around local control — the idea that each city or department decides who sees its data and for what purpose. When that promise breaks, even for one city, it confirms the core problem with this technology: once a nationwide network of cameras is logging every car's movements, the data doesn't reliably stay put. It moves through partnerships, task forces, and backend systems that most residents never get to vote on or even see. Boston found out the hard way, and its response — actually shutting the program down — is more accountability than most cities have shown.

Other departments running Flock should be asked the same question Boston's report answered: who else has access to your drivers' travel history, and did anyone actually agree to that? Check our camera map to see what's watching in your area, and use our take-action resources to push your local officials for real answers before a scandal forces the issue.