Seattle Surveillance Transparency Law a Good Start, Says EFF
A Seattle transparency ordinance limits police surveillance through public involvement in the process but “has crucial gaps,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation blogged Monday. The ordinance, adopted July 31, requires the City Council to get public feedback before a law enforcement…
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or other municipal agency may acquire surveillance equipment. It’s similar to a Santa Clara, California, law, and proposals in Oakland, St. Louis, New York City and statewide in California (see 1707120013 and 1706270059). Seattle’s law could be better, EFF Director-Grassroots Advocacy Shahid Buttar wrote: “The law's enforcement mechanism relies on private litigants, but unnecessarily limits their access to justice. In addition, broad exemptions carving out police body cameras and various sources of video surveillance exclude some of the most visible forms of surveillance from the ordinance’s protections.” But it’s a good start, he said.