City needs more detail in Array of Things privacy policy, experts say

The city of Chicago is preparing to install a network of sensors that will track people on city streets — walking, biking, driving — and privacy experts say it needs to better spell out how it will use that information.

 

The nine-page privacy policy includes just a few paragraphs on how the data will be collected, used and shared.

 

“It’s a little bit meager in terms of what information is actually conveyed,” said Timothy Yim, director of data and privacy at the San Francisco-based Startup Policy Lab.

 

The city plans to install 500 Array of Things devices across the city by the end of 2018. They will house sensors including a low-grade camera and microphone that can capture images and sound from passersby, bringing a new scale of data collection to busy intersections. Officials say the project will help improve city life by analyzing patterns in environmental and human behavior.

 

City officials are seeking public input on the policy before installing the first 42 devices, slated to go up around the city starting in late July. The second of two public forums on the policy is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Harold Washington Library downtown.

 

Blue Sky asked two privacy experts to look over the policy, and both said it sacrificed specifics for brevity.

 

Read More: City needs more detail in Array of Things privacy policy, experts say – Chicago Tribune