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Rules Committee forwards surveillance-technology ordinance to full board, bars city use of facial recognition software
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee voted to forward an ordinance requiring departments to submit surveillance-technology policies and Surveillance Impact Reports; the committee adopted several amendments clarifying department use and reporting and included an explicit ban on city deployment of facial-recognition software.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on May 6 advanced an ordinance that would require city departments to submit Board-approved surveillance-technology policies and a Surveillance Impact Report before acquiring surveillance systems or accepting related grant funds.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who sponsored the ordinance, told the committee the measure is about public oversight and transparency rather than prohibiting surveillance outright. "This is really about public oversight of surveillance technology," Peskin said, adding that the ordinance would ban the city's use of facial-recognition software while preserving the ability of private individuals to provide video to police as tips.
Peskin described a package of amendments the committee added that modify reporting and implementation details. Among…
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