The Chula Vista City Council has approved a new policy that will govern how the city can use technology and protects residents from data collected by its surveillance equipment.
Under the new policy, technology is categorized into three types: general technology, which includes emails and cellphones; sensitive technology, like drones and traffic signal cameras; and surveillance technology, such as the license plate readers.If Chula Vista wants to acquire a new surveillance tool, for example, the city would have to develop a policy explaining why it is needed, how it would be used and protocols for data collection and access.
Advocate Nancy Relaford said the waiver built into the policy “renders it almost meaningless” because “that could cover anything at any time.” Chula Vista will instead have an advisor function that could be carried out by “one or more City staff members or consultants with privacy and technology expertise,” reads the policy.
would be proposed to the City Council. She approved the majority, but not to hire a chief privacy officer. She said the move would require budget consideration and that hiring a consultant to do the same would be faster than going through the recruitment process.