Flock offers to pay employees to leave — and the backlash gets hotter

The useful part

The surveillance company opened a voluntary separation program on September 18, according to Wired, which received an internal email. Flock expects to approve most applicants, with most accepted employees departing by October 29. Wired said the company did not immediately respond to its requests for comment.

How it works

• The buyouts don't establish that Flock is going broke, but they do give the company a way to reduce its workforce while its business faces public scrutiny.
• Local camera, much larger audience Boston offers one example of why residents might be skeptical of assurances about data access.
• As I reported last month for Blaze News, cities were already canceling Flock contracts, but some were replacing its cameras with competing systems.
• Residents still need to know what happens to the cameras and the information they collect after Flock leaves town.
• According to Ars Technica's September 15 report, city officials said Flock enabled nationwide access during the opening days of a 2025 pilot despite a contract restricting sharing.

What to take from it

Boston's surveillance report attributed it to vendor error and said the access was di...

Details worth keeping

Flock Safety is offering employees money to leave. A canceled contract doesn't necessarily mean fewer cameras. The buyouts add a new development to that story.