Support Civilian Oversight of Surveillance Tech in Berkeley

Scheduled for the July 12th Berkeley city council meeting is a proposal to draft an ordinance for civilian oversight over surveillance technology used by law enforcement in city limits. Surveillance oversight would be steered by an open participatory privacy working-group. Surveillance technology includes drones, camera systems, license plate readers, facial recognition software, IMSI catchers (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), social media aggregator software, and much more. A privacy working-group would place limits on how technology is used, the vendors that law enforcement purchases from, and the types of data sharing agreements law enforcement enters into.

At the meeting, there will be be a comment period for the proposed surveillance oversight ordinance, during which members of the public can speak in favor of community control over police surveillance. Members of the public may stay #Anonymous if they so choose – there is no requirement to state your name.

(Be aware that the item is listed last on the schedule as Item #41. The city council meeting starts at 7:30PM, but the item may not be heard until around 9PM or later. But even though the item is listed last, it could be moved sooner in the schedule. Bring food and a book to read while waiting.)