Scooter Surveillance Is Constitutional, ICE Buys Utility Data, And FB’s 👓
Whose Streets? Our Streets! (Tech Edition) Issue 15
From the Technology and Public Purpose Project
What Should You Consider When Investing In ‘Smart City’ Technology?
In this blog post, Technology and Public Purpose Fellows Liz Sisson and Rebecca Williams team up to propose how governments and investors alike can consider public purpose in their “smart city” technology investments. Rather than addressing “smart city” product risks to serving the overall public good, this post will cover “smart city” business risks to serving the overall public good. Specifically this post outlines how governments and investors can approach “smart city” procurement, business models, and long-term value creation with public purpose in mind.
T👁️p 3 St👁️ries 👁️f the Week
Market: Facebook’s $650M privacy settlement and their smart glasses
Last week a judge approved a $650M settlement for Facebook’s violation of the Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act for using facial recognition technology without users consent [CNET] and separately confirmed a report that the company is "looking at'' incorporating facial recognition technology for its upcoming smartglasses, but only if people want that feature. [Input Mag] What could go wrong?
Policy: Lawsuit Challenging L.A.’s Collection of Scooter Data Dismissed
“The Los Angeles Department of Transportation can continue to collect trip and other data related to scooters, bikes and other forms of shared transportation after a federal district court in southern California dismissed the case challenging its collection of mobility data.” [Government Technology]
Watching the Watchers: ICE investigators used a private utility database covering millions to pursue immigration violations
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have tapped a private database containing hundreds of millions of phone, water, electricity and other utility records while pursuing immigration violations, according to public documents uncovered by Georgetown Law researchers and shared with The Washington Post.” [Washington Post]
City Watch
New Hampshire, U.S. - NH rolls out statewide community response network. [GCN]
New York, NY, U.S. - Data Project May Drive Policy for Hyperlocal Flooding in NYC [Government Technology]
New York, NY, U.S. - The NYPD deploys a robot dog again [The Verge]
Omaha, NE, U.S. - Emails show Omaha police monitoring of activists in 2020 [MDJ Online]
Peachtree Corners, Georgia, U.S. (Update) - Future of 5G Is Under the Microscope at Georgia Incubator [Government Technology]
Singapore - Singapore’s data debacle shakes city-state’s ‘smart’ ambitions [Financial Times]
Market Watch
Acquisitions & Financing
Biometrics
NIL Technology, a Copenhagen-based maker of optical sensing tech, raised €26 million ($31 million) [Fortune Term Sheet]
Video
Snap Surveillance Purchased by SenSen Networks [Security Sales]
Other
Ellipsis Drive, a Netherlands-based provider of solutions for buying and selling spatial data, raised $2.3 million in seed funding [Fortune Term Sheet]
Patents/New Tech
Biometrics
A patent shows how facial recognition drones could identify you from above [Fast Company]
Amazon expands palm-reading payment system as pandemic drives down cash use [S&P Global]
Video
Ring’s new Video Doorbell Pro 2 captures a taller image and has enhanced motion detection [The Verge]
Ring and Nest helped normalize American surveillance and turned us into a nation of voyeurs [Washington Post]
Personnel
Other
Amazon VP Abruptly Resigns From Board of Liberal Legal Organization [The Intercept]
Public Private Partnerships
Mobility
Lyft reinvents calling a cab [The Verge]
Purchasing Trends
Video
Unmanned Airborne Surveillance System Market Share, Growth Forecast- Global Industry Outlook [Ground Alerts]
Policy Watch
Massachusetts, U.S. - How One State Managed to Actually Write Rules on Facial Recognition [NY Times]
Minneapolis, MN, U.S. (Update) - US city passes restrictive ban on facial recognition use by police, others [The Star]
New York, NY, U.S. - Coalition of Advocates and Academics Submit Joint Comments Documenting the NYPD’s Failure to Comply with the POST Act [Brennan Center]
New York, NY, U.S. - Disclosures of NYPD Surveillance Technologies Raise More Questions Than Answers [Tech Policy Press]
Teaneck, NJ, U.S. - Teaneck just banned facial recognition technology for police. Here's why [North Jersey]
Toronto, Canada - It’s time to defund Big Tech and empower communities [Toronto Star]
Washington, U.S. - Lawmakers Move to Ban Discriminatory Tech in Washington State [Government Technology]
Various U.S. Cities - Portland, OR and New York City Follow Illinois’ Lead on Private Rights of Action in Biometric Privacy Legislation [JD Supra]
Vermont, U.S. - Attorney general’s office asks lawmakers to loosen ban on facial recognition [VT Digger]
Virginia, U.S. - Virginia Lawmakers Vote to Restrict Police Biometric Tech [Government Technology]
Watching the Watchers Watch
Citizen will now tell you why helicopters are flying overhead [The Verge]
Bonus Section...Neoliberalism Urbanism to Watch, um, Read About
Neoliberal Urbanism and the Financialisation of the 21st Century City [The Big City Net]
Whose Streets? Our Streets! (Tech Edition) documents trends in the surveillance of public space. Curated by Rebecca Williams and Madeleine Smith as part of "smart city" surveillance research for the Technology and Public Purpose Project at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.