[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-flock-cuts-staff-as-cities-drop-license-plate-reader-contracts":10,"sections":34},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":29,"feedback":33,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":33,"total_tokens":33},7027,"flock-cuts-staff-as-cities-drop-license-plate-reader-contracts","Flock Cuts Staff as Cities Drop License Plate Reader Contracts","Flock is offering employees voluntary buyouts as dozens of cities cancel contracts for its license plate reading cameras.","Flock Safety is offering buyouts to its own employees as the cities that pay for its license plate readers head for the exits.\n\nThe company has begun offering voluntary buyouts to employees. The severance program comes as dozens of cities move to end their contracts for Flock's license plate reading cameras, calling the technology controversial. Flock sells its camera network mainly to police departments and local governments, which use it to track vehicles. The buyouts suggest the company is trimming costs even as it keeps pitching itself as essential public safety infrastructure.\n\nFlock's business depends on cities renewing recurring surveillance contracts, so cancellations at this scale are a bad sign for a company that has pushed hard into local law enforcement budgets nationwide. Voluntary buyouts usually show up before layoffs, not after a company's growth is secure. It is also a rare moment of leverage for privacy advocates and city councils who have long argued that automated license plate readers amount to mass surveillance with little oversight.\n\nSurveillance vendors have weathered public backlash before and kept growing anyway. The real question is whether this is the start of a genuine reckoning or just a rough quarter Flock will buy its way through.","[\"flock\",\"license-plate-readers\",\"surveillance\",\"policy\"]","2026-09-19T02:22:54.000Z","2026-09-19T07:56:41.644Z","2026-09-19T07:56:53.572Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,28,24],"flock","license-plate-readers","surveillance",[30],{"name":31,"url":32},"Wired","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wired.com\u002Fstory\u002Fflock-is-offering-voluntary-buyouts-to-employees\u002F",0,{"sections":35},[36,41,46,50,55,60,65,70,75,80,85,90,95,100],{"name":37,"slug":38,"count":39,"latest_published_at":40},"AI","ai",4114,"2026-09-19T18:33:46.000Z",{"name":42,"slug":43,"count":44,"latest_published_at":45},"Security","security",673,"2026-09-19T17:30:00.000Z",{"name":47,"slug":24,"count":48,"latest_published_at":49},"Policy",345,"2026-09-19T19:22:20.000Z",{"name":51,"slug":52,"count":53,"latest_published_at":54},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":56,"slug":57,"count":58,"latest_published_at":59},"Hardware","hardware",156,"2026-09-19T11:00:00.000Z",{"name":61,"slug":62,"count":63,"latest_published_at":64},"Science","science",129,"2026-09-19T19:45:00.000Z",{"name":66,"slug":67,"count":68,"latest_published_at":69},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",99,"2026-09-09T17:27:33.000Z",{"name":71,"slug":72,"count":73,"latest_published_at":74},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",78,"2026-09-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":76,"slug":77,"count":78,"latest_published_at":79},"Software","software",75,"2026-09-10T20:41:21.000Z",{"name":81,"slug":82,"count":83,"latest_published_at":84},"Startups","startups",55,"2026-09-09T23:14:29.000Z",{"name":86,"slug":87,"count":88,"latest_published_at":89},"Gaming","gaming",43,"2026-09-10T12:18:06.000Z",{"name":91,"slug":92,"count":93,"latest_published_at":94},"General","general",42,"2026-09-18T22:35:10.000Z",{"name":96,"slug":97,"count":98,"latest_published_at":99},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":101,"slug":102,"count":103,"latest_published_at":104},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]