Helen Krieger
Role at the time: Candidate for West Hollywood City Council (at-large)
Statement summary
Helen Krieger said West Hollywood should develop its own digital privacy policy that could map where residents can expect privacy, set a public process for adopting surveillance technology and allow certain cameras only with a person reviewing each image.
“I’d want West Hollywood to develop its own digital privacy policy. The specifics would need to go through a staff report and input from the tech community, but I know San Jose and Chula Vista both have digital privacy policies, and they differ. I believe San Jose allows Flock cameras but has designated certain sensitive areas near schools, reproductive health centers and gay clubs where there are no cameras. Part of our policy could map out where residents can expect privacy and where they can’t. It could also set out a public engagement process for adopting any new surveillance technology that requires public notice, with a certain number of public meetings, at least one on a weekend, so there’s an agreed process the whole city buys into. It could allow certain cameras but require a human in the loop, as with red-light cameras: a photo is taken only when someone breaks the law, and a person reviews it before a ticket is issued, rather than letting an algorithm decide.”
Local News Pasadena question-and-answer interview with West Hollywood City Council candidate Helen Krieger about housing, street design and surveillance cameras.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is whether networked license-plate readers such as Flock should exist and be used. Krieger says Flock is not a good vendor right now and proposes a city digital privacy policy that could allow certain cameras with a human reviewer and public notice. She rejects the current vendor but leaves room for limited camera use, so we used Mixed or conditional rather than Condemned.