Austin Technology Commission approves recommendation on sensitive technology, data retention and vendor oversight

The Austin Technology Commission voted Wednesday to approve a recommendation from its artificial intelligence working group that asks city leaders to limit how the city and its vendors collect, retain and share data from “sensitive technologies,” including automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and certain camera surveillance systems.

The recommendation, presented by Commissioner Brian A. Williams, calls for community engagement, a formal commission review process for proposed vendor deployments of sensitive technologies, alignment with state and federal law, and exploration of a short list of prohibited uses. “Data is the new gold. Right? Data is the new oil,” Commissioner Brian A. Williams said during the Sept. 10 meeting as he explained the impetus for limits on broad data collection and stronger auditability of vendor systems.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the city increasingly depends on third-party vendors that collect large amounts of information — much of which is never used for its original…