City Council established a Privacy Advisory Board Tuesday to protect resident and visitor privacy as the city continues using surveillance equipment that stores individual data.
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego City Council Tuesday established a Privacy Advisory Board to protect resident and visitor privacy as the city purchases and uses surveillance equipment and other technology that collects or stores individual data.
The drive came about in 2019, following the revelation that the $30.3 million Smart Streetlights program — approved in late 2016 and billed as a way to assess traffic patterns — actually put more than 3,000 cameras and microphones in San Diego’s street lights. Some of these surveillance devices were used by the San Diego Police Department to solve violent crimes, but public backlash caused then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer to shutter the program.
The board will consist of nine volunteer members, six of whom must be city residents. The members must be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council. Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert and Council President Sean Elo-Rivera expressed concerns on how some communities may have been targeted for disproportionate surveillance in the past — or currently — with both citing the Muslim community as an example. They said they believed the advisory board would ensure some equity and responsible use of technologies for surveillance purposes.
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