Policy updates urged to protect residents' privacy

Knowledge is power.

As Santa Rosa officials continue to accrue information about the city and its residents, privacy experts warn the balance of power is shifting to the city and could lead to abuse.

"Information held by the government can be used to influence your world in very profound ways," said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, a public advocacy group based outside San Diego.

The city needs strong policies to manage its growing wealth of information in the best interests of its citizens, Dixon said.

She called on Santa Rosa officials to make clear who can access information about residents and to keep records so the city can track which employees and residents view such information.

Dixon said she understands a digital city operates more efficiently but worries a "bad apple" employee or a computer hacker could cause serious damage using or distributing information about Santa Rosa and its residents.

"Technology is like a sword. Put it in a benevolent hand and it is very helpful," she said. "But put it in a malevolent hand and it is very harmful."

Eric McHenry, the city's chief technology officer, said the city carefully protects its data and already has policies in place that detail who can access what information.

For instance, only about 5 percent of city employees -- mostly law enforcement and parking officials -- can view live video feeds captured on surveillance cameras across the city, McHenry said.

Still, Dixon decried Santa Rosa implementing its most recent technology -- millions of street-level photos -- without first crafting a policy that delineates who has access.

"I think the way they are deploying it is irresponsible," she said.

McHenry said the city is working with its legal department to get a policy in place. And while the city initially planned to give photo access to all employees, the city is now only rolling it out to staff who will use the information in the daily course of their jobs.

Civil liberty advocates have bemoaned the growing amount of government surveillance. When Santa Rosa City Council members announced plans last year to expand video surveillance in downtown, it drew protests from the American Civil Liberties Union.

"This is the beginning of a radical change in the way the state, society and citizenry interrelate," Mark Schlosberg, police policy practices director at the ACLU's Northern California office, said at the time.

But the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is legal to capture images where people don't have a reasonable expectation to privacy. The street-level photos used by the city were all taken from Santa Rosa streets in public areas.

The city also is grappling with another issue. While it is not making the software or panoramic images available to the public, it would most likely have to turn over the photos upon request under California's open access laws.

But even if the city handed over the photos, McHenry said it would not have to provide access to the proprietary software used to view them. Someone requesting the information would receive only a series of photos taken from all directions, and not necessarily viewable in a panoramic fashion.

McHenry agrees that advancements in technology require advancements in policies, and said the city works hard to keep the two aligned.

"This is all something we have to talk about," he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@press

democrat.com.