Technology

The City of San Diego's Surveillance Ordinance amended and added  Chapter 2, Article 10 of the San Diego Municipal Code on August 10, 2022. The ordinance is designed to provide greater transparency to City Council and the public when the City acquires any technology that meets the City's definition of surveillance.

The Surveillance Ordinance requires that for each technology that meets the criteria for surveillance, City departments must: 

• Prepare a Surveillance Use Policy that includes the purpose, use, data collection, data access, data protection, data retention, public access, third-party data sharing, training, auditing and oversight, and maintenance. 
• Hold at least one or more community meetings in each City Council district where the proposed surveillance technology is deployed, with an opportunity for public comment and written response. City Council may require departments to conduct additional community engagement on the technology.
• Prepare a Surveillance Impact Report including description, purpose, location, impact assessment, mitigations, data types and sources, data security, fiscal cost, third-party dependence, alternatives, track record, and public engagement and comments. 
• Present the item to the Privacy Advisory Board for review.
• Present the item to City Council for the acquisition and deployment of all new and currently-used surveillance technologies.
• Provide annual reports on surveillance technology use, impact, and non-surveillance technology acquisitions.

Read the full municipal code for more details