Support the Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance
Call Script
I’m asking [the Supervisor] to support the proposed Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance. No surveillance technology should be acquired or deployed without public input, a vote by elected leaders, and clear systems of oversight and accountability.
Background
Right now in San Francisco, city departments are using and proposing surveillance technologies that compound racially biased policing, stifle civic participation, and monitor our daily lives. ISF is supporting legislation that will put an end to secret government surveillance in San Francisco and give people the power to protect their privacy and civil rights. The government should never acquire or deploy surveillance technology without community input and clear systems of oversight.
Our country’s history makes clear that although secret surveillance endangers everyone’s safety, it is particularly harmful for people of color, immigrants, and activists, who have long been subject to government abuse. Many of these systems stockpile people’s information in databases that can be accessed by ICE and other federal agencies.
This ordinance is all the more pressing given the rising threat of face surveillance technology. If left unchecked, government use of face surveillance systems will lead to unprecedented tracking of our personal lives, including where we worship, what political meetings we attend, and who we love. This technology is incompatible with a vibrant and healthy democracy that all San Franciscans deserve.
The Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance would give the community a seat at the table, and the power to shape the future of tech in our city and ensure innovation benefits everyone. With the votes of the BoS, we can lead the nation by bringing government surveillance out of the shadows and under community control.
https://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/san-francisco-must-be-a-digital-sanctuary-for-all/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/29/18202602/san-francisco-facial-recognition-ban-proposal