Surveillance company Flock cuts staff as privacy backlash grows

Surveillance camera maker Flock is cutting its workforce as the company faces ongoing and growing backlash to its license plate readers and people-tracking technology.

News of the staff cuts comes from Reuters, which reported that Flock is reducing its staff by 18%, or around 270 employees, across the board. The publication said the employees are leaving at the end of October following a voluntary buyout program.

Wired reported last month that Flock was asking some of its employees to leave, citing the need to shrink its staff to avoid mandatory layoffs.

Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel told TechCrunch in a statement on Friday: “Flock recently offered current employees a generous Voluntary Separation Program as part of our efforts to position the company for its next phase of growth. This was a voluntary program, not a layoff, and reflects our continued focus on building a strong, sustainable business for the future.”

Flock’s spokesperson would not comment further when asked by TechCrunch if chief executive Garrett Langley or other executives took a pay cut as part of the program.

Flock has faced heavy criticism and mounting pushback from communities across the United States and legislators looking to rein in the company’s privately run mass surveillance program. Flock has installed over 100,000 license plate-reading cameras across the U.S., which allow police and federal agents to track the location and whereabouts of vehicles passing by them. Dozens of police officers have been arrested, fired, or forced to resign for abusing access to Flock’s system to search, track, and stalk people without a warrant or their permission. 

While some cities have moved to take down Flock’s cameras citing public outcry, Flock quickly replaced them, prompting some Americans to destroy the cameras.

Flock has also been criticized for its poor cybersecurity, including allowing cameras to be publicly exposed and accessible from the web. Security experts have questioned Flock’s accuracy after the system has misidentified license plates, resulting in improper police stops and arrests, including a journalist who was driving an authorized review vehicle.

Several law enforcement departments, including Los Angeles’ police department, have allowed their contracts to expire or lapse, citing privacy and civil liberties concerns.