CREATION OF PRIVACY AND TECH. PANEL DELAYED

The Chula Vista City Council last week postponed a vote on creating a Privacy and Technology Commission in response to concerns that it lacked meaningful oversight responsibilities and failed to give members a strong voice in city purchases and policies.

Last year, officials adopted a policy that governs how the city can use technology and protects residents’ data collected by its surveillance equipment. It came in response to public concerns that data collected by the city’s license plate reader program had been shared with federal immigration agencies, a practice that has been halted.

The policy guides data management processes and steps for acquiring new surveillance tools, which must undergo review by the Privacy and Technology Commission. A 12-member task force produced the policy, though not all their recommendations made it into the final version.

Details about their exact duties, who and how many would qualify and how often the group would meet came before the City Council on Tuesday.

In general, the commission would review new acquisitions and reports prepared by city staff on potential impacts the tools could have on the public and city systems, as well as facilitate public discussion. It would consist of five voting members and one ex-officio member, each of whom would need experience in areas such as public safety, cyber security or a legal background in privacy protection. The group would meet four times per year, according to the draft ordinance. The City Council would appoint members.

Privacy activists and former task members said the ordinance lacked teeth. They said the commission needs to have more members and meet monthly. Selected members, they added, should demonstrate their work experience in privacy protections, include underrepresented or vulnerable people and exclude those with possible conflicts of interest.

Sophia Rodriguez, who served as chair of the nowdissolved task force, said the ordinance needs “preventative measures.” For example, the proposal said the commission would review and advise “on the procurement standards for agreements” involving technology.

“In the language that I understood from the current ordinance, the procurement already happened and then the commission takes a look at that,” she said. “We want, before acquisitions start, that the commission takes a look at that and kind of advises to go forward with the purchase or go against that.”

Vice Mayor Jose Preciado had several suggestions for the ordinance based on community feedback, he said. Among them: the commission has seven voting members rather than five. They should have experience in contracting or public auditing and legal background in advocating for marginalized groups.

An updated version of the ordinance with Preciado’s amendments will return for a vote in July.