User:Yawnbox/sandbox2
| Formation | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit |
| Purpose | Civil liberties advocacy |
| Headquarters | Seattle |
| Website | seattleprivacy.org |
The Seattle Privacy Coalition is a group of civil rights, personal-privacy, and anti-surveillance activists based in Seattle.[1] The grassroots organization formed in response to the Seattle Police Department's drone and city-wide surveillance controversies.[2] Created in March 2013, the groups founders include Jan Bultmann, Allegra Searle-LeBel, Lee Colleton, Phil Mocek, David Robinson, and Jacob Appelbaum.[1]
Contested issues in Seattle
[edit]Port Security Cameras and Meshnet Project
[edit]History
[edit]In 2012, Seattle Police Department (SPD) (led by 30-year SPD veteran Assistant Chief Paul McDonagh and with Detective Monty Moss as technical lead) applied for and received a $5 million dollar grant from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for Department of Homeland Security, Seattle Police Department[3], and Port of Seattle Security Project. The security would consist of surveillance cameras along the waterfront, combined with a mixed wired and wireless network for communications.
Seattle City Council approved the proposal in May 2012 (Ordinance Number: 123879), listing the Port of Seattle, the Coast Guard, and the Seattle Fire Department partners. By late 2012 and early 2013, equipment was being acquired and SPD was lining up additional partners (the Port of Tacoma, the Seattle Department of Transportation, King County Metro) and combining several other grants to build a much larger network. Plans included mounting cameras in residential and recreational areas.
Public response
[edit]In January of 2013, the West Seattle Blog began getting questions from residents about cameras and meshnet nodes going up on poles along the Alki waterfront.
In response to questions from the public, Mayor Mike McGinn promised a "thorough public vetting" of the issue, and Seattle Police Department held three community meetings while the cameras and meshnet nodes continued to go up. Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata asked city staff to draft legislation that became Council Bill 117730, which would regulate the acquisition and use of certain surveillance equipment by municipal government.
Seattle Privacy co-founder Phil Mocek published a blog about the ordinance on March 3, 2013.
Unmet protocol requirements
[edit]Seattle City Council bill 117730, passed unanimously by the Seattle City Council on March 18, 2013, signed by former Seattle mayor Mike McGinn on March 26, 2013, and enacted as ordinance number 124142, requires such review and approval prior to operation of such equipment. Special provisions were made for Seattle's departments that acquired such equipment before the bill passed. They were required to provide policies within 30 days of passage of the bill. All city departments which had previously acquired such equipment failed to comply with the law, requiring them to submit policies by the end of April 2013.
In response to passage of the ordinance, Mocek and others formed the Seattle Privacy Coalition, which announced itself April 13, 2013.
Seattle Privacy's initial goals were limited to persuading the City of Seattle to do two things: (1) Tighten the language of Ordinance 124142 to eliminate a clause about exigent circumstances, and (2) form and empower a Data Privacy Oversight Board to review existing and future surveillance technology for data gathering, sharing, and disposal protocols and potential vulnerabilities and privacy violations.
The group proposed a legislative framework in which to create the board in meetings with staff for City of Seattle Councilmembers Nick Licata, Mike O'Brien, and Sally J. Clark. Councilmembers expressed interest but stated that the group hadn't demonstrated sufficient public concern to go forward with the proposal. http://www.seattle.gov/council/newsdetail.asp?ID=13492
More Publicity for Seattle Police Department's mesh network
[edit]History
[edit]One of Seattle's local news organizations, The Stranger, published an in-depth exposé on the history and extent of the mesh network, including the failure of the Seattle Police Department to provide a use policy or protocols for privacy protection, and the privacy threat from the devices, which are designed by their manufacturer to track and log mobile wireless devices passing near them.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/turn-off/Content?oid=18262521
Days after The Stranger article appeared, Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel ordered deactivation of the mesh radio network installed across the city, pending approval of a use policy for the DHS-funded mesh nodes and surveillance cameras.
[not sure what to say here. A lot of the stranger's article was based on our info... maybe feedback from Lee?]
Seattle Privacy Coalition's response
[edit]In early October 2013, more than five months after the date the Seattle Police Department and other departments were required by law to submit their policies to Seattle City Council, the Seattle Privacy Coalition filed a public disclosure request for copies of those protocols both with City Council and Seattle Police Department.
The Seattle Privacy Coalition also requested the Seattle Police Department's draft policy, as well as any summaries and analysis of feedback they received about the mesh network.
[PHIL can provide list of PDRs and links to Muckrock here.]
Seattle Police Department's drone program
[edit]History
[edit]SPC didn't really exist when this was happening, but I think Phil was pretty involved with getting it stopped. Phil, do you want to speak to this -- should we cut it from the article?
Seattle Privacy Coalition's response
[edit]input needed
DHS Funding for Seattle Police Department Programs
[edit]History
[edit]Beginning in 2003, Seattle City Council yearly authorized Seattle Police Department to receive grants from the United States Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Grant Program.
On December 4, 2013, legislation came before council to accept UASI funding, which included plans for a facial recognition program called the Booking Comparison System.
http://q13fox.com/2014/02/21/spd-may-use-facial-recognition-technology/
http://www.storyleak.com/seattle-police-prepare-dhs-funded-facial-recognition-program/
http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/seattle-police-want-digitally-scan-surveillance-vi/ndT48/
http://rt.com/usa/seattle-surveillance-dhs-grant-943/
Seattle Privacy Coalition's response
[edit]Contacted Harrell office about facial recognition software. Harrell office decided to hold the legislation until SPD provided a privacy policy for the facial recognition software.
Now speaking at committee meetings, blogging, tweeting to get the word out about DHS grants funding fusion centers. Meeting with Councilmember Harrell's staff. Meeting with Human Rights Coalition to write joint letter to Councilmember Harrell.
Seattle City Light Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program
[edit]Drafting talking points for public Speaking before Seattle City Light Review Panel 3/19/2014.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Seattle Privacy Coalition: About". Seattle Privacy Coalition. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Fikse-Verkerk, Matt. "You Are a Rogue Device". The Stranger. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "Wondering about new cameras along Alki? Seattle Police project". West Seattle Blog. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ "Seattle (WA) Fire Department Partners with In Motion Technology" (PDF). InMotionTechnology.com. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ "Other side of the Seattle Police surveillance cameras: Why the 'wireless mesh' is on but about to be turned off". West Seattle Blog. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ "Followup: More about city-installed Alki surveillance cameras". West Seattle Blog. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
External links
[edit]