Flock cuts staff

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2:32And I mean, you can learn about a wide range of topics. Again, ODSC West 2026 is happening October 27 through the 29th in San Francisco and virtually. Go to odsc.ai slash west and use promo code tcdaily for an additional 15 % off your pass to ODSC AI West 2026. That's odsc.ai slash west and use code TCDAILY to get an extra 15 % off on the number one AI Builders and Training Conference. As privacy backlash grows, surveillance company Flock cuts its staff. I'm Imran Shaikh and your weekend crunch featuring three big tech headlines starts right now. At the Golden Age of American Innovation Summit on Thursday, President Trump awarded Elon Musk, Jensen Wang, Sergey Brin, and AMD's Lisa Su the National Medal of Science, the nation's top science prize.

3:24Dell Technologies' Michael Dell and Microsoft's Satya Nadella also received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Together, the awardees have donated nearly$6 billion to efforts tied to Trump and his administration, according to the New Republic. Alphabet and Microsoft, for example, donated to the President's Inauguration Fund and White House Ballroom. AMD gave to a pro-Trump super PAC, and Michael and Susan Dell pledged$6.25 billion to help fund the Trump Accounts, the administration's savings program for children. Trump said the honorees had helped pioneer an incredible future for America, and that because of them, we will always be on top.

4:06No one else can compete with us. Nadella received his medal right after the administration indefinitely suspended Microsoft from the H-1B program, which lets U.S. companies hire skilled foreign workers. Automatics Interim Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Clapperman has left his position after less than a month, TechCrunch has learned. Clapperman had been elevated to the new job last month after the governance crisis at the WordPress.com parent company, which saw its entire board either quit or be fired. The company confirmed the departure with the following statement shared by Automatic's Director of Communications, Megan Fox.

4:45Automatic will always be grateful for Jeremy Clapperman's leadership. We wish him the best of luck on his next endeavor. Before serving as the organization's interim finance chief, Clapperman had served as the CFO of Automatic's VIP Enterprise Business Unit. He had replaced the former CFO, Mark Davies, who had briefly become Automatic's CFO after the company's board members voted to put CEO Matt Mullenweg on leave in September. Within 33 hours of the board's decision, Mullenweg retook the CEO role and the board was wiped clean. Automatics chief legal officer Andy Misson had also left the company alongside Davies.

5:23Both executives had signed reciprocal severance deals during Mullenweg's short leave of absence, TechCrunch previously reported. Automatics spokesperson did not comment on the reason for Clapperman's departure. When Mullenweg originally announced Clapperman's new role as interim CFO on Automatic Slack, Mullenweg reiterated that he had 100 % confidence in the company's cash and financial position. 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 percent, or around 270 employees, across the board.

6:09The 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 Lubelle 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.

6:45Flock'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. Now, 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.

7:30While 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.

8:13And folks, that's your Daily Crunch. Today's stories were reported by Zach Whitaker, Dominic Midori-Davis, and Sarah Perez, and more awesome TechCrunch journalists. We'll see you here next week, and until then, find us at TechCrunch.com. Thank you.

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