Chula Vista City Council to nominate, appoint members to privacy protection commission

calico 11/25/2023

CHULA VISTA —

The Chula Vista City Council is expected Tuesday to appoint members to an inaugural commission that will advise officials on how to use and acquire surveillance technology.

A total of 17 people applied to be a part of the seven-member Privacy Protection and Technology Advisory Commission, according to the city. The application period closed on Oct. 16.

To qualify, applicants had to have experience in accounting and finance, information technology and data safety, knowledge of government public safety functions, legal or other expertise in government transparency and advocacy for communities who have traditionally experienced privacy and civil rights issues.

Commission members will be tasked with receiving public input and making recommendations to the City Council about technology use policies, the impacts that surveillance technology may have, procurement standards for agreements involving said technology and best practices for acquiring new tools. The intent, according to the city’s website, is “to improve sensitive personal information management, security, and privacy.”

The formation of the commission, which council members approved earlier this year, is the latest step since the city adopted last year a policy that governs how it can use surveillance equipment while protecting residents’ personal information collected by technology, such as automated license plate readers and drones. Residents and privacy advocates raised concerns about the Police Department’s use of technology and that they had previously shared data with federal immigration agencies.

On Tuesday, the City Council is expected to determine the process for nominating members and then issue appointments. An eighth member, who will be a nonvoting member, will be selected at a future council meeting.

The names of the applicants are as follows: