The residents of Iowa City, Iowa have moved to ban drones, red-light cameras and license plate readers in what is likely the most thorough action taken by a town yet against modern surveillance technologies.<\/p>\n
\n The Iowa City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to advance an
\n ordinance that came to fruition earlier this year after thousands
\n of the town\u2019s 70,000 residents petitioned to ban the emerging and
\n controversial new law enforcement tools.\n<\/p>\n
\n If the proposal passes, the city will be unable for two years to:\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cUse any automatic traffic surveillance system or device,
\n automatic license plate recognition system or device, or domestic
\n drone system or device for the enforcement of a qualified traffic
\n law violation, unless a peace officer or Parking Enforcement
\n Attendant is present at the scene, witnesses the event, and
\n personally issues the ticket to the alleged violator at the time
\n and location of the violation<\/i>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The ordinance is now scheduled to go up for a second and third
\n round of votes later this month, but local outlets report that
\n it\u2019s likely to pass.\n<\/p>\n
\n If added to the law books, the final draft of the ordinance will
\n impose a two-year ban on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and
\n other automated technologies used to track people or personal
\n property.\n<\/p>\n
\n Several jurisdictions throughout the US have advanced bills
\n previously to restrict the use of UAVs, or drones, but the
\n example in Iowa City shows an attempt to pass the widest in scope
\n of such laws yet.\n<\/p>\n
\n American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa Executive Director Ben
\n Stone told the town\u2019s Press-Citizen newspaper that he has yet to
\n see a law similar to the one in Iowa City materialize.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere are a lot of laws and ordinances against traffic
\n cameras, but in terms of drones, it\u2019s just so early in the
\n proliferation of that technology<\/i>,\u201d Stone said.\n<\/p>\n
\n The effort got off the ground thanks largely to efforts by the
\n public watchdog group Stop Big Brother, whose members helped
\n compose the language of the ordinance. According to one member of
\n the group, even a two-year ban on technologies could be enough to
\n curb any attempt to install programs that are still in
\n production.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The city might say they have no plans (for drones or license
\n plate readers) but it’s been our experience that this can change
\n in a very short amount of time,”<\/i> Aleksey Gurtovoy told Ars
\n Technica.\n<\/p>\n
\n Red-light cameras, on the other hand, are already being used
\n across the state and would likely increase in number during that
\n two-year span. Some local lawmakers already said that, if the
\n ordinance is accepted, they\u2019ll fight to bring red-light cameras
\n back when the timing is right.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019m going to have to support it \u2013 \u2018have to\u2019 is the key word
\n there \u2013 because our state has chosen not to move forward with the
\n technology<\/i>,\u201d council member Terry Dickens told the
\n Press-Citizen. \u201cI\u2019ll be the first one to bring back red-light
\n cameras as soon as we can<\/i>.\u201d\n<\/p>\n