Monday, October 14, 2024

Good evening:

Dallas police will start using facial recognition technology this week “to improve the quality of life and decrease violent crime,” according to this memo.

Police officials say they will use Clearview AI “to provide additional investigative leads in violent offenses, decrease imminent threats to public safety, assist in the identification of deceased/incapacitated individuals, and close cases faster than ever before.”

The Dallas Morning News editorial board wrote in May that “DPD is doing a good job of building the right guardrails” around how the technology will be used here, and City Council members signaled support for plan. But the vendor comes with baggage.  

As I noted earlier this year, Clearview AI is the subject of reporting and a 2023 book by New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill, Your Face Belongs To Us: A Secretive Startup’s Quest To End Privacy As We Know It. Hill spoke about the company in an interview last year with NPR. She said Clearview says it has 30 billion faces in its database and that its technology is being used by thousands of police departments.

The company was fined more than $30 million by the Netherlands’ data protection watchdog last month for building “an illegal database” containing billions of faces taken from social media and the internet, Forbes reported.

A few months prior, the company agreed to a unique settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging it violated the privacy rights of millions of Americans, according to media reports. The company said it would give a 23 percent stake in the company to Americans whose faces are in its database, Hill of The New York Times reported.

Police officials have said they will update City Council members every six months on how the technology is used.

Read on for more on:

• The first public briefings on a long-anticipated Fair Park accountant’s report.

• How many millions of dollars in bond funds remain from the past three bond programs.

• What position the Dallas City Council took on funding Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).

⚡ Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest:

— Dallas City Council members approved a state legislative agenda package that includes advocating for full funding for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), KERA reports.

📝 Memos of Interest:

— The Texas Municipal League, an advocacy group for Texas cities, will focus during the upcoming state legislative session on protecting local control, opposing unfunded state mandates, and ensuring cities retain sufficient revenue streams, according to this memo.

— Check out all the latest City Hall memos here and here.

Meetings of Interest: October 15 - 18, 2024

Watch City of Dallas Meetings Live

Tuesday, October 15

Workforce, Education, and Equity Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— This meeting includes an update on how various City departments are closing disparities. Read the briefing.

Wednesday, October 16

Dallas City Council Briefing, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— City Council members will get an update on plans to remove and trench Interstate 345 between Downtown and Deep Ellum, including what has changed based on public input. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials are working closely with DDI to incorporate stakeholder input on connectivity and decking priorities. Read the briefing.

— The meeting is expected to include the first public discussion of an accountant’s report showing $5.7 million of donor-restricted funds were misspent in Fair Park, as reported by The Dallas Morning News. Read the accountant’s memo here and more from D Magazine here.

— About $250 million in bond funds remain unspent from the 2006, 2012 and 2017 voter-approved bond programs combined, according to this briefing.

Thursday, October 17

Dallas Park and Recreation Board, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Board members will also be briefed on the Fair Park accountant’s report noted above.

Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings? Let me know.

Were you forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here.Have a great week.

Best,Scott Goldstein

Communications & Government Relations Consultant

Downtown Dallas, Inc.

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