Seattle Privacy Coalition

SPD event tonight and this week’s recommended #privacy reading

SPD event tonight:

Tonight at beautiful Golden Gardens, we’ll hear Seattle Police Department spokespeople and techies talk about the Port of Seattle surveillance cameras. If you can, please come: This is pretty interesting stuff.

Details: Golden Gardens Bathhouse, 8498 Seaview Pl. NW, Friday, May 24th at 7 p.m.

SPD also invites your e-mail comments or questions at [email protected].

Seattle Privacy Coalition members have made it to each of the previous public meetings (at Alki and Belltown) and we plan to be there tonight.

This week in recommended reading

We don’t really mean to tell you to read Bruce Schneier every single time the man posts something, but we couldn’t resist sharing this very alarming article, which envisions all our devices, appliances, clothing, and other items tracking us and each other and reporting in: The Internet of Things.

Speaking of things that know where you are: From the opposite side of the country comes news of the Maine Senate voting to require police to get a warrant before engaging in location tracking of cell phones and other GPS-enabled devices in non-emergency situations.

We feel like we see articles almost every day that refer to new (or existing) programs and systems that gather and store data, such as ORCA and other transit cards, Smart Meters, and more.

Lately we’ve been seeing and using the term “Accidental Surveillance” to describe how, when they are all put together, these systems paint an alarmingly detailed picture of our lives and movements.

Here’s a piece by Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess that discusses how, starting April 1, owners of commercial and multifamily residential buildings of at least 20,000 square feet must report energy usage to the City on an annual basis. We’re all for saving energy, we just want to make sure privacy protection is part of the conversation: Tracking Building Energy Use.

Finally we saw that Woodinville plans to purchase surveillance cameras to fight crime, and is also considering the sort of automated license plate reader (ALPR) system in use currently in Seattle. Props to Mayor Bernie Talmas, the lone no vote, who was reported in The Seattle Times as voting no, “saying he was concerned about privacy issues and possible liability to the city.”

And this seems like a good moment to note that Seattle Privacy Coalition does not oppose data gathering systems, but we also are concerned about privacy issues and possible liability to our fair city, and would love to see oversight in place to review department protocols.

Who do you want looking after your privacy rights?

We’ve been brainstorming the ideal make up of an advisory board to help City Council review protocols for surveillance equipment. Here’s what we’ve come up with so far.

– University of Washington security and privacy research center
– Representative from the police accountability and review board
– Computer hardware developer
– Security software developer
– Sociologist
– Two attorneys with expertise in privacy law
– Near Future Security Researcher
– ACLU technology expert
– Community member with stake in free expression (artist? blogger?)
– Small business owner

Principles for an effective civilian oversight board

Below are some existing principles for civilian oversight. We’ve submitted them along with our proposal to Seattle City Council in hopes that they will help Council craft an oversight body that has real authority to influence policy.

Independence. The power to conduct hearings and report findings and recommendations to the public.

Investigatory Power. The authority to independently investigate incidents and issue findings on complaints.

Hearings. Essential for solving credibility questions and enhancing public confidence in process.

Reflect Community Diversity. Board and staff should be broadly representative of the community it serves.

Policy Recommendations. Civilian oversight can spot problem policies and provide a forum for developing reforms.

Statistical Analysis. Public statistical reports can function as early warning systems and detail trends, helping to identify potentially vulnerable systems.