City Council
City may publish what surveillance technology it uses.
Residents may soon learn what surveillance technology Pittsburgh uses and what it can do. Now council has advanced a request for a city report on 18 types of tools, including license plate readers and biometric software. It would also cover data protection and how civil rights harms are prevented. The report is due July 1, with a public hearing to follow.
Written by Amy Whipple
Want to know how many ways the city surveils its residents? So does City Council.
Council voted to move forward with requesting that the Department of Innovation and Performance (DIP) create a report on the city’s use of surveillance technologies.
Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park recently pulled two invoices during meetings to draw attention to the city’s use of surveillance technologies. She has also said she does not want the technology companies to sell data to third parties.
The legislation lists 18 specific types of surveillance technology for DIP to look for. Among them are automatic license plate readers; biometric surveillance technology, including voice, iris, and gait-recognition software and databases; and surveillance enabled or capable lightbulbs or light fixtures.
The report will include, among other things, the technologies’ capabilities, how its data is preserved and protected and how potential adverse impacts on civil rights and civil liberties are prevented. It will cover Jan. 1, 2020, to current and must be submitted to council by July 1. Council will then hold a public hearing on the findings.
According to the legislation, the public needs to be know about the technology and its capabilities in order to have a public debate on how it affects civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.
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