Santa Clara County that includes much of Silicon Valley passed an ordinance requiring greater transparency over the purchase and use of spy technology including the Stingray cellphone tracking system. It requires local government agencies to report annually about the use of the technology. (San Jose Inside, June 10, 2016, by Silicon Valley Newsroom)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation hailed the ordinance for setting “a new standard in local surveillance transparency.” “In Santa Clara County, the recently adopted measure will impose several requirements on all County agencies. First, it will require them to seek affirmative approval from the county Board of Supervisors before purchasing new surveillance equipment. It will also require agencies to develop usage policies providing protections for civil rights and civil liberties for the Board to review and approve. Finally, it will require annual reports to the Board enabling meaningful oversight of how agencies deploy surveillance equipment that the board allows them to purchase,” wrote Shahid Buttan, (EFF, June 15, 2016.
The ground-breaking ordinance will equip citizens with information needed to assess the effect of the surveillance in its impact on privacy and due process. Legal experts praised the law for leading the way in transparency and in allowing citizens to know how the technology is implemented, not just the stats on crime. (Ars Technica, June 8, 2016, by Cyrus Farivar)