MISSOULA — The city of Missoula has been looking to replace its outdated security cameras at various parks and aquatics facilities, but the new Verkada cameras have raised concern amongst the public, and city council members, over their AI facial recognition and license plate reading abilities.
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“It was brought up earlier that this has not been found unconstitutional. I'm gonna remind you that MCA can change and the Constitution can change,” one member of the public said at the Missoula City Council’s Monday night meeting.
One key concern raised by members of the public was the cameras’ constitutionality in relation to the right to privacy.
That's something that Constance Van Kley, an assistant professor at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law, says is not unwarranted.
“Often, it seems like AI is fully integrated into a product. And so if it's so completely integrated into a product, what safeguards are there that could really prevent this product capable of doing these things that are prohibited by law? What safeguards could the city implement to effectively prevent the use of AI?” Van Kley said.
Van Kley says the legal implications lie in the camera’s capabilities themselves and whether the city has the power to prevent the company from activating the AI capabilities without the city’s permission. Although she did note that her knowledge of the cameras is limited, and it’s hard to say exactly what the implications may be.
“I think part of the city's response needs to be complete compliance with the law and another part really needs to be explaining to people what the technology can and can't do and being very transparent about that,” Van Kley said.
Virginia Ramsey, a communications representative with Verkada, said that her company takes privacy with utmost seriousness, and that entities that use their cameras have complete control over their data.
She also said that after the company's 2021 security breach, which was investigated and later settled without a fine by the Federal Trade Commission, Verkada reworked its security systems and has not had an issue since.
Van Kley’s sentiment has been echoed by city council members, including Bob Campbell, who made a motion to table the purchase.
“I want to send this back to the community because I think it's important to have the accountability piece in place first and foremost,” Campbell said on Monday night.
I reached out to all of the 12 city council members and heard back from the majority of them.
The overall sentiment is that they plan on holding off on the purchase as the mayor has directed city staff to begin drafting a policy around AI usage as a whole.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the purchase of the Verkada cameras as the city works out what they ultimately do.
