Are city governments prepared to address the potential impacts and very real risks of technology with surveillance implications? Few municipalities have meaningful policy in place to address the potential impacts of these sorts of technologies. In this, our third and final episode of City Surveillance Watch, we assess the current state of government policy and law for surveillance tech (hint: there isn’t much), and we offer practical tools and advice. Find out how municipalities that are ahead-of-the-curve are crafting surveillance tech policy, and get guidance for how cities - even those wit ..read more

"People live out loud and outside, and I do have concerns that public gathering, public music — that the surveillance is going to lead to more policing of public space." Those are the words of Ursula Price, a racial justice and civil rights advocate in New Orleans who has opposed the city’s expanding connected camera network. She’s one of the many people featured in the second episode of City Surveillance Watch, which takes listeners on a coast-to-coast journey for a glimpse at how surveillance tech is used and how it affects real people. We’ll dig into how private funding and public-private ..read more

In this first episode of City Surveillance Watch, reporter Kate Kaye explores the inherent dichotomy of data-hungry technologies that - while promising to make cities safer and more efficient - can also be considered forms of surveillance tech. Listeners will hear from city staff and law enforcement representatives, civil liberties advocates and activists, tech providers and policy makers, about how cities are thinking about these technologies. They’ll consider risks and unintended consequences of data-centric tech, and probe the grey areas that lie between a so-called smart city and one that ..read more

Today, as decision makers evaluate use of "surveillance" technologies such as license plate readers, public safety cameras and smart sensors, they must balance the potential benefits of seemingly benign systems with very real risks and costs. Reporter Kate Kaye will explore this topic in a limited three-part podcast series from Smart Cities Dive, launching January 11. Check out this sneak peek of the episodes, and be sure to subscribe to the show ..read more