NYC Council Scrutinizes OTI's Big Apple Connect Program Over Privacy Concerns
The Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) has come under scrutiny for its handling of the Big Apple Connect program, which provides free internet to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents. The program has raised concerns about privacy and surveillance, leading to a lawsuit and an emergency oversight hearing by the New York City Council.
Initially, OTI failed to provide the City Council's technology committee with the contracts for the Big Apple Connect program. It was only after a lawsuit that the information was disclosed. Furthermore, NYCHA residents were not informed that the free internet program was facilitating live police surveillance through the integration of NYCHA CCTV cameras with the NYPD's Domain Awareness System. This integration allows the NYPD to respond more quickly to incidents and potential crimes, with plans to connect 1,900 more cameras across 19 NYCHA properties by the end of 2023, and eventually 17,897 cameras across 119 NYCHA developments.
The NYPD may share information collected through NYCHA camera feeds with federal immigration enforcement when required by law. However, the use of Big Apple Connect by the NYPD may violate the city's Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act (POST Act). Lawmakers and advocates have raised concerns about the integration of NYCHA CCTV footage with predictive policing algorithms. The city did not provide answers to many of the councilmembers' questions, including which NYCHA sites were set for camera integration and how they were selected.
The New York City Council held an emergency oversight hearing to address these concerns. The hearing aimed to shed light on the NYPD's use of the Big Apple Connect internet program to access NYCHA CCTV cameras and ensure transparency and accountability in the use of surveillance technology.
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