One of the nation's leading operators of automated license-plate reading systems announced Monday it has paused its operations with federal agencies because of confusion and concern about the purpose of their investigations.

Flock Safety, whose cameras are mounted in more than 4,000 communities nationwide, put a hold last week on pilot programs with the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection and its law enforcement arm, Homeland Security Investigations, according to a statement by its founder and CEO, Garrett Langley.

Flock's tools are used by the cities of San Diego , El Cajon , Chula Vista , La Mesa and others. In March, privacy advocates raised concerns about the use of license-plate readers in federal immigration operations . And, in recent days, Il

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