July 19, 2022
San Diego’s Ongoing Smart Streetlight Controversy
Is citizen privacy violated by video recording in public?
SAN DIEGO, CA – In San Diego, smart streetlights that are equipped with cameras continue to be an ongoing discussion at city council meetings. One year ago, San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer shut down streetlight cameras under pressure from privacy advocates. Now the city is trying to balance the public's concerns with public safety and law enforcement initiatives.
Police and government advocates are pushing for streetlight camera footage to be utilized for crime solving purposes. Privacy advocates are pushing to ensure that the streetlights don’t invade citizen’s privacy even though the camera record only what is visible on a public street.
KNSD NBC News 7 San Diego launched an I-Team investigation into the matter. More details in the report above.
