6/7/13

Politicians in Iowa City reluctantly pass ban on drones, automatic traffic surveillance | Naked Security

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PoliticiansinIowaCityreluctantlypass banondrones,automatictraffic surveillance

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byLisaVaasonJune6,2013|4Comments
FILEDUNDER:Featured,Law&order,Privacy

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It'skindofmoot,giventhatIowaastatein theUSisn'tactuallymovingforwardto implementtechnologythatwould automaticallysnapphotosandrecognize vehicles'licenseplates. Nonetheless,thecitycouncilofIowaCityon Tuesdaynightbowedtothewillof4,000 petitionsigners,unanimouslyapprovingthe firstreadingofanordinancethatwillbandrones,trafficcameras,and licenseplatereaders. Enjoyyourdronefreecitystreetsaslongasyoucan,IowaCitycitizens:city officialssaytheyplantoeventuallyreversetheban,accordingtotheIowa CityPressCitizen. Thenewspapernotedthatcouncilmembersmadeclearthattheystillsupport theuseofsurveillancedevicesinparticular,redlightcamerasbutwillwait untilstatepolicymakerswrapupareviewofpossiblerestrictionson cameras. Onecouncilmember,TerryDickens,saidhe'llbringbackcamerasASAP:
" I mg o i n gt oh a v et os u p p o r ti t- h a v et o i st h e k e yw o r dt h e r e-b e c a u s eo u rs t a t eh a sc h o s e nn o tt o m o v ef o r w a r dw i t ht h et e c h n o l o g y . . . I l lb et h ef i r s to n et ob r i n gb a c kr e d l i g h t c a m e r a sa ss o o na sw ec a n . "

Theordinanceisinreactiontoanearlierordinance,passedFebruary2012, inwhichthecityapprovedofredlightcamerasatcertainintersectionsasa meansofreducingcollisions. Thecounciltoldcitystafftofigureoutthebestwaytomakeithappen, includingpossiblevendors. Thisishowthenewordinancebanningthetechnologynowreads:

T h eC i t ys h a l ln o t : A .U s ea n ya u t o m a t i ct r a f f i cs u r v e i l l a n c es y s t e mo r d e v i c e ,a u t o m a t i cl i c e n s ep l a t er e c o g n i t i o ns y s t e m o rd e v i c e ,o rd o m e s t i cd r o n es y s t e mo rd e v i c ef o r t h ee n f o r c e m e n to faq u a l i f i e dt r a f f i cl a w v i o l a t i o n ,u n l e s sap e a c eo f f i c e ro rP a r k i n g E n f o r c e m e n tA t t e n d a n ti sp r e s e n ta tt h es c e n e , w i t n e s s e st h ee v e n t ,a n dp e r s o n a l l yi s s u e st h e t i c k e tt ot h ea l l e g e dv i o l a t o ra tt h et i m ea n d l o c a t i o no ft h ev e h i c l e

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6/7/13

Politicians in Iowa City reluctantly pass ban on drones, automatic traffic surveillance | Naked Security

Theordinance,whichseemstobethefirstofitskindinitsthreewayprivacy protection,isbeinglaudedbyprivacyexperts. ArsTechnica'sCyrusFarivarcheckedin withafew. One,WoodrowHartzog,alawprofessorand privacyexpertattheCumberlandSchoolof LawatSamfordUniversity,toldFarivarthat theordinanceoffersblanketprotectionfor citizenstopreventa"hostofactivities" deemeddubiousbysome,includingtickets fromredlightcamerasandautomated ticketsformovingviolationsissuedviamail:
" T h eo r d i n a n c ea l s op r o v i d e s r o b u s tp r i v a c yp r o t e c t i o n sf o r c i t i z e n sb yl i m i t i n gt h e s t o r a g e ,u s e ,a n dd i s t r i b u t i o n o fd a t ac o l l e c t e db yt h e s ea u t o m a t e ds y s t e m st o r e a s o n sd i r e c t l yp e r t a i n i n gt ot r a f f i co t h e r c r i m i n a lv i o l a t i o n se n f o r c e db ya no f f i c e ro nt h e s c e n e . T h i so r d i n a n c ei so n eo ft h em o s tc o m p r e h e n s i v ea n d v i g o r o u sa t t e m p t sI ' v es e e nt oc o m b a ta u t o m a t e dl a w e n f o r c e m e n ta n ds u r v e i l l a n c e ,ap r a c t i c et h a ti s b e i n gi n c r e a s i n g l yr e j e c t e db yc i t i z e n so v e rp r i v a c y a n dd u ep r o c e s sc o n c e r n s ,a m o n go t h e rt h i n g s . "

Waytogo,IowaCity. Let'shopethatthesamecitizenswhocaredenoughaboutprivacytoput forwardthislegislationcareenoughtofightforitinthefaceofthecity council'sdesiretoretractitinitsinfancy.

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Politicians in Iowa City reluctantly pass ban on drones, automatic traffic surveillance | Naked Security
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MParkes 17hoursago

WhileIamallforprivacy,automaticnumberplaterecognitionsystemsareusedby manypoliceforcesintheUKtoprotectcitizensfromuninsured,untaxedand unlicenseddriverswhohavenobusinessontheroadsoIforoneaminfavourof suchsystems,theproblemariseswhenthosewiththeauthoritytousethese systemsorthosethatareincontrolofsuchsystemsthatmaybepositionedon trafficlightsorbuildingsabusethatauthoritybyusingthedevicesformonetary gainratherthanforlegitimatepurposes.Ultimatelyitisthehumanequationthat causestheproblemsratherthanthesystemsthemselves.Inadditionthereare thenalltheusualsecurityrisksapplicabletocomputernetworkswherethedata collected,lawfullyornotcouldbeaccidentallyorpurposefullyleaked,stolenor usedthroughexploitationofflawsfoundinunsecuredorpoorlysecuredbackend systemsconnectedtosuchcapturedevices.Althoughyoumightassumethatas suchsystemsareunderthecontrolofgovernmentdepartmentsthattheywouldbe farmoresecurethanmosthomeorsmallbusinessnetworks.

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CliffJones 16hoursago TerryDickensbetterhaveanotherjoblinedup.

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BTW,therearecheapandreadilyavailableplatescannersalreadydeployedwidely acrosstheUS.Theymount4ofthemonthefendersofthecars,theycanreadand identifyplatesfasterthanthecarcanencounterthem. Thesethingsshouldn'tbeallowed,doublysoforredlightcameras.It'sallabout revenue,ithaszerotodowith"publicsafety,"infactyoucansearchupstudies thatshowredlightcamerasINCREASEaccidents,aspeoplepayattentiontothe lightsratherthananyothertraffic. Suddenlystoppingshorthascausedanumberofrearendcollisionsatanearby intersectionthathascameras.Irememberthebeforeandafteroftheinstallationof camerasatthisintersection...itismostdefinitelymuchmoredangerousnow.Off thetopofmyheadI'dsayaccidentshavetripled,conservatively.

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NoSpin1600 14hoursago Whenyouandyourautomobileareinpublicviewyouhavegivenupyour expectationofprivacy.

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JamesMagnan 13hoursago

Itshouldbenotedthatitdoesnotbandrones.Itbansdronesforthepurposesof trafficenforcement,whichismuchnarrower.

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Politicians in Iowa City reluctantly pass ban on drones, automatic traffic surveillance | Naked Security
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Abouttheauthor I'vebeenwritingabouttechnology,careers,scienceandhealth since1995.IrosetotheloftyheightsofExecutiveEditorfor eWEEK,poppedoutwiththe2008crash,joinedthefreelancer economy,andamstillwritingformybelovedpeepsatplaceslike Sophos'sNakedSecurity,CIOMag,ComputerWorld,PCMag,IT ExpertVoice,SoftwareQualityConnection,Time,andtheUSand BritisheditionsofHP'sInput/Output.Irespondtocashandspicy sites,sodon'tbeshy. ViewallpostsbyLisaVaas

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