AI news · Surveillance · business
Flock Safety cuts 270 jobs amid a privacy backlash
The maker of AI licence-plate cameras calls it a voluntary separation programme; about 18 per cent of staff leave at the end of October.
Flock Safety is cutting about 270 employees, 18 per cent of its staff, who leave at the end of October after a voluntary buyout programme, Reuters reported, TechCrunch reports. A Flock spokesperson told TechCrunch on Friday 9 October 2026 that the programme was voluntary and not a layoff.
Flock sells AI-powered licence-plate readers to police forces and cities. It has installed more than 100,000 such cameras across the US, which let police and federal agents track where vehicles go, TechCrunch reports. The backlash crosses party lines: Florida banned the cameras from its highways and Texas cut off state funding, Engadget reports.
Several police departments, Los Angeles among them, have let their Flock contracts lapse over privacy and civil-liberties concerns. Critics also point to misread plates that led to wrongful stops and arrests, and to cameras left exposed on the open web, TechCrunch reports.
For vendors selling AI to public bodies, Flock’s year shows that contracts can end over public opinion as well as performance.
Sources
- TechCrunch: Surveillance company Flock cuts staff as privacy backlash grows. Checked
- Engadget: Flock Safety is reportedly planning major layoffs. Checked
Alexandre S.
Alexandre S. is a creative ad strategist and copywriter with ten years' experience in digital marketing across multiple channels.