Protect our privacy and deflock Johnson City: The City Commission must dismantle its mass-surveillance network in JC and place safeguards against future surveillance tech.
Public safety matters. So does our right to go about our daily lives without the government building a searchable record of where we travel. I oppose Johnson City’s Flock camera system and the normalization of mass surveillance it represents. It’s time to deflock Johnson City and put strong rules in place so the next surveillance technology isn’t deployed without public debate, clear limits, and meaningful oversight.
As your Johnson City Commissioner, my priorities will be to:
- Deflock Johnson City with a moratorium on use and further deployment. End the City’s use of Flock automated license plate readers and remove the cameras rather than expanding a mass-surveillance network across our community.
- Hold a series of special sessions on surveillance and privacy, giving residents the full picture of what technologies the City uses, what information is collected, how it is used and shared, and what risks come with it.
- Adopt strong rules governing surveillance technology, requiring public notice, review, and Commission approval before the City acquires or deploys new technologies capable of systematically monitoring residents or collecting information about their movements and activities.
Example of future-proofing regulations:
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- Require cybersecurity and privacy reviews before deployment, including independent assessment of vulnerabilities, data security, retention, third-party access, and the consequences of a breach.
- Make the rules understandable and public, clearly explaining what information can be collected, how long it can be retained, who can access it, what searches are permitted, and when information can be shared outside the City.
- Put strict guardrails around access and use, including role-based access, audit logs, limits on external agency access, prohibitions on unauthorized uses, and meaningful consequences for misuse.
- Create ongoing governance and public oversight, with regular audits, public reporting, clear responsibility for enforcement, and Commission review when technologies, vendors, capabilities, or policies change.
- Require the City to justify surveillance, not residents to justify their privacy. Any future technology that intrudes on privacy should face a clear test: What specific problem are we solving? Is the technology necessary and effective? Is there a less intrusive alternative? And do the benefits justify the risks?
Technology can support public safety without turning Johnson City into a place where everyone’s movements are recorded just in case they might someday become useful. Privacy should be the default. Surveillance should be the exception.
