Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Livestream Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chesapeake City council declines to share livestream code with outside sites, cites security and custom-code concerns
Summary
A local real estate office requested permission to embed the town boat-dock livestream; council, citing advice from IT contractor Green Technologies about custom code and potential security risks, decided not to share the livestream code. Council members also discussed camera brackets and upcoming George Street repaving.
A request from a local real estate office to embed Chesapeake City’s boat-dock livestream on a separate website was denied by the Town Council at its Aug. 26, 2024, special session after town IT contractor Green Technologies advised against sharing the custom livestream code.
Staff explained that the livestream uses custom code created by the town’s IT contractor and that allowing another domain to host the stream would require recreating that code and adding a user account for each additional host. Staff also said there are potential security risks because external hosts would be technically connected to the town’s security cameras; while the town’s website is monitored by its vendor, the town does not control how an outside site would use the stream.
Council concluded it would not share the code or allow other websites to host the livestream. During mayor and council comments, Lee Adams praised the current camera setup, noting that viewers can see boats and dock activity, and urged strengthening the camera brackets and removing the blurring feature. Frank Vari said repaving of George Street will start after Labor Day.
The minutes record no public comment on the issue and do not note any follow-up assignments beyond the council’s decision not to share the code.
